Blades seeketh blood
by Strongraider101
Summary: The ashen one expected to be consumed with the rest of the world when the darkness came. Now however he and the Firekeepr must find their way through a corrupted and rotting world. Even throughout the ages, the darkness of man's heart will always remain the same.
1. Chapter 1-Soul of the unkindled

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dark souls or Akama ga kiru**

 **Soul of an unkindled**

"Ashen one, hearest thou my voice still?"

Those were the last words the Unkindled heard before the age of Dark officially started. The Firekeeper had snuffed out the last flame, and they were both lost within the unending darkness. Had they been fully consumed and become one with the dark? Or perhaps simply corrupted like previous walkers of the abyss. The Ashen One knew not what had become of him, the Firekeeper, or the word around them. Had they somehow made it to shelter to wait out the dark? He did not know. He could not tell, nor did he really care at the moment. The unkindled thought of himself as a decently thoughtful individual. He had felt great sorrow at his friends passing, such as Siegfried, and Anri. However it had been a long time since then, and the world of arieandel, plus the fight with the Soul of Cinder had made him temporarily callus. Or perhaps it was the unknown centuries that had passed that made the Ashen one somewhat callus at the moment.

"Ashen one?" The Firekeeper's voice called out from the void, and he was thoroughly surprised to hear her voice. "Ashen one, we have visitors." At her words, the unkindled got up from his prone position on the stone floor he now realized he was on. A copious amount of ash came off of his undead legion gear as he stood, and he found himself in a familiar place. The firelink shrine.

It looked exactly the same as the last time he had been here, but it was as dark as the other firelink shrine. He was next to where the bonfire should be, but instead of the warm fire welcoming him, it was instead a cold husk, and offered no respite. He turned behind him, sensing a presence, and saw the Firekeeper. She was sitting on the steps, as she usually would, and looked no different than before.

"Where?" The unkindled asked her, his cool voice echoing in the silence, and she looked toward the main entrance to the shrine. It was covered by solid rock, but He could still hear the sounds of pickaxes against rock. Whoever was doing that, was trying to get in. He went down the hallway where the shrine maiden usually was, but only found a chair with what appeared to be the outfit of the soul of cinder. The unkindled grabbed it, and found where Andre would normally smith. Instead of the blacksmith, there was the greatsword of the soul of cinder, and from the looks, fully upgraded. Upon inspecting the thrones of the lords, he found the transposing kiln resting upon lord ludloth's throne, which he grabbed, as such an item would be quite useful. Aside from those three items, there was nothing else of note in the shrine. "How did we get here?" He asked the Firekeeper as he approached her.

"I...am unsure, but I believe we made our way back here after the first flame was extinguished." She tried to explain. "However my memory hath not returned to me clearly. Perhaps that is for the best?" The Firekeeper couldn't help but feel somewhat useless in this situation, but there was also something else on her mind. "Ashen one? May I trouble thee for a moment of thoust time?"

"Of course, what is it?" He responded.

"I feel different from before, as if there is something bright burning inside me, something that was not there before." At her words, the unkindled got closer, and felt the familiar energy of a bonfire from her, but that shouldn't be...His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the stone of the firelink's entrance breaking, and fire light peering through into the shrine. The unkindled searched his bottomless box, and pulled out his basic knight gear, along with a short sword, and his knight shield. While it wasn't his best weapons and armor, he did not know what kind of enemies he would face.

 _I would rather not show all of my cards if these people aren't hollows._ He reached the top of the stairs, and walked into the firelight that was coming through the new opening. The stone finally broke away enough to walk through, revealing a carved out cavern, lit with torches that lined the walls of the cavern. In front of him was a large man with a pickaxe, and he looked at the unkindled with surprise. There were also two other people in the cavern that held what appeared to be broadswords, and given their identical uniforms, they were probably part of some sort of military style group. Possibly soldiers of a local government. They looked at me with surprised expressions, and I continued to stand there, waiting for them to do something.

"Well!? Did you three finish yet? Why re you stopping?" A voice yelled from further down the cavern, he rounded the corner to the part of the cavern I could see. I saw that he was a relatively young man, probably early thirties, and he wore what was clearly an officers uniform. He wore a white duster like jacket, and decorative shoulder pads adorned him. He noticed my presence, and like his subordinates, he was completely surprised. "What the hell!?" he exclaimed. The officer could not believe it, this should all be rock, and if there was a cavern of some kind, there shouldn't have been someone alive in it! After he had broken the silence, his soldiers got into defensive stances against the unkindled, and the large worker backed up to behind the soldiers.

The ashen one brought his shield up against the new hostility. The soldiers approached cautiously, and he could see their trepidation. These undead were visibly afraid, and this was a huge advantage for him.

"Stop!" The officer cried, he had seen his fair share of battles, and this particular person looked well trained. Not to mention his armor and weapons appeared to be of top quality. "He hasn't shown any hostility, lets just talk this out." The soldiers backed down, and so did the armored person. The officer approached, and smiled to the stranger. "My name is captain Armin, officer of the empire, what is your name?"

The unkindled had not expected the sudden hospitality, but it was not unwelcome, perhaps these undead were not hollowed at all, they certainly didn't look hollowed. He appraised the men in front of him, and saw that the large man with the pickaxe had backed up almost to the back of the cavern, his attitude betraying his build. He faced the officer, and saw the curiosity in his eyes. Seeing no hostility at the same time.

"My name...is Adrien."

* * *

The initial contact with the 'empire' had been shaky for the ashen one, but thankfully the local captain was nice enough to offer him a place in the small fortress that was located above their heads. He had informed them of the Firekeeper, and the were more than happy to let her come up as well. Although when the soldiers saw her, they were awe struck with her beauty. A quick glance from the unkindled made them look away, and fear for what might happen if they even thought about her. Currently the Ashen one and the Firekeeper were taking residence in an empty barracks room.

Which brought Adrien to his revelation, this 'fortress' was understaffed, and was most likely frequently attacked as well, given the state of the temporary wooden walls that surrounded the stone building we resided in. The building was of decent quality, but it was clear that the attacks on the structure were doing a number on the old building. Who had been attacking the fortress he had yet to find out, but he figured it was another army of some kind. The firekeeper was currently sitting on the bed within the room the captain had provided. She had not said much, but the unkindled could tell she had been thinking, and observing, much like he himself.

"Ashen one, are we in Lordran?" The Firekeeper suddenly asked, and he looked toward the blind woman before sighing.

"No, I do not know where we are in all honesty. It does not look like Lordran, nor does it look like the outside of the shrine, nor does it have the feeling of Arieandel or the Ringed City. I believe we are in a new era, in a new place." He responded. The Firekeeper had often heard of the unkindled's exploits, mostly by the undead himself. So she knew of what he talked about when he said Arieandel and the Ringed City.

"I believe thoust is right, I do not since the curse of the undead within any of these peoples." At her statement, Adrien looked at her shocked. Had he truly been conversing with mortals this whole time? If this was the case then perhaps they did not know he was an undead? This had to be the case, as he had heard stories of the cursed undead being cast out, and discarded from their homes, seen as monsters. If the soldiers around him had even thought he was an undead, he would not have made it far into the barracks.

At that moment Captain Armin came in.

"I see your both getting comfortable, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you some questions." At Armin's words, Adrien nodded. "So how exactly did you two get into that cavern? Or I should say, chamber, because my men explored the inside of your uh...residence."

"We had been there, it was not underground before." The unkindled answered honestly. "I do not know of this place." He said, referencing the fortress around them. "I believe we are largely clueless to the world at this time." At his words, the captain seemed shocked, but restrained his expression.

 _I suppose if they were under there, and the had only now come out of that place, I guess its not surprising. But how on earth did the survive for that long!? Perhaps an imperial arms?_ The captain thought. "I...see. Well then, how did you survive underground for so long? My men saw no evidence of any food stuffs in your chamber."

"To be honest, I am not sure, I am also unsure how we are able to communicate, to think language would have not changed after so long." While yes the undead did not require food and water, the darkness should have taken both him and the firekeeper long ago. At Adrien's words, the captain seemed to realize the same thing, and looked contemplative.

"Well, whatever the case, I believe the answers will be revealed eventually. If they are meant to be. I must ask however, how long are you planning on staying here?" While they could be a drain on precious resources, this man looked to be experienced, and could be a turning point if the revolutionaries attack again.

"I think, only a few days, you have been experiencing frequent attacks, have you not?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Most of your defenses are temporary, and this stone structure shows evidence of recent attacks. Who are you fighting, if I may ask?"

"Revolutionaries, they seek to overthrow the current ruling emperor, and establish a new empire. To one degree I can't blame them, I've seen the capital, and the corruption within, but Its still my empire too. I will defend it at all costs. They have been attacking regularly, and we have not been given the reinforcements necessary to hold this position." Adrien nodded. _Then my concerns were founded._ Adrien thought.

"I understand, thats why I may not stay long, the Firekeeper is not experienced in combat. I fear for her life if your enemies attack again." The captain nodded in understanding, however something about the lady in the room made him curious.

"I see, why does she wear that mask over her eyes? Also, Firekeeper?" Before the Ashen one could respond, the Firekeeper spoke first.

"I am the Ashen one's humble servant, I care to him, and serve him any way he desires, that is my duty." The Firekeeper explained.

"I...see..." The captain stated. _So she's that kind of servant. I guess I shouldn't be surprised._ "...and the mask?"

"She is blind." The Ashen one said flatly. The captain visibly shrunk in embarrassment.

"Ah, I see, well if you want we'll have food ready in the mess In a few minutes. Your welcome to join us." He said somewhat awkwardly, and left the room. Adrien looked back to the Firekeeper.

"I believe you are right, he did not suspect I was an undead, nor did he seem to know what a Firekeeper is. Also, try to describe yourself as a servant differently, I think he got the wrong idea about you."

"As thou wish, Ashen one."

* * *

The next day the unkindled and the Firekeeper explored the compound they had been staying in, the Firekeeper staying close to Adrien's side. The cool wind brushed against her hair, and the grass underneath her bare feet felt great. The ashen one described to her In sparse words the appearance of the Fortress. Worn, tired, and surrounded by a forest that threatened to take the land the fortress was on back into the grasp of nature, that was the sate of their temporary home.

"Are you sure about this sir?" A sergeant asked captain Armin, as they watched the knight and his servant wander the fortress.

"Yes, we need all the help we can get, even if we don't know them, we haven't received reinforcements in months. This man shows experience as well, I believe he will be useful, and perhaps even game changing." At the captain's words the sergeant looked at him curiously. Without turning to face him, the captain continued. "He seems different, its like there is a power he possesses...I am not in support of the actions of the capital, I am only still serving because I want to protect my family. If he could make changes at the capital, maybe this seems too optimistic, but perhaps he might solve all of this trouble." The sergeant was shocked, but then the captain laughed. "Maybe I'm just thinking too much, go get the report from our scouts, I heard they had returned." The sergeant saluted and left.

The ashen one was currently in a courtyard like area, in front of the main gate of the fortress. The Firekeeper was laying on a grassy area outside of the courtyard. A butterfly approached the lady, and sensing the insect, held out her hand. The butterfly landed on the Firekeeper's hand, and it seemed to be curious about the pale woman. She could not see it, or see the Champion of ash, but she could sense the presence of both, and in the butterfly's case, could feel it. The unkindled approached her slowly, and the butterfly did not stir.

"Do you enjoy this place?" Adrien asked the Firekeeper, as she continued to hold the butterfly. "It seems more peaceful, and lively than the shrine was."

"I do, its so beautiful here, I feel so much more around me. Perhaps the whole world is like this?" The Firekeeper asked hopefully. "Although, I feel great darkness coming from far away. The darkness of mankind resonates from a city. A city that even I can see." At her words the Ashen one looked toward where he thought she might be referring to. _If such a place exists, then perhaps that is why we are here in the first place._ Adrien thought.

Both the unkindled and the Firekeeper continued to wander the fortress, mostly enjoying the relative peace in the place. However the overwhelming feeling of dread and anticipation was not lost on them. These soldiers were expecting another attack, and given the looks some of the soldiers had, it did not seem like they expected to survive another assault.

"And what of the report?" Captain Armin asked, as his sergeant and the scouts stood at attention before him. They were currently in his office, and would have been there sooner, but the scouts had to be released from the doctors.

"This next attack force is larger than any others we had faced previous, it seems they are intending to wipe us out with the next assault." One of the scouts said, his right arm currently in a sling, and a bandage was over his left eye. "It was a miracle that we survived when they spotted us."

"I see, well good job men, you both deserve some rest, go and get it." The captain responded. At that the two scouts left, and left the sergeant with the captain. Armn put his face in his hands, and got up from his chair. He looked out the window at the setting sun, approaching the horizon. "I fear this may be our last night here sergeant. Have the men ready themselves, prepare and fix everything that isn't already in top condition." The sergeant gave a hard expression and saluted before leaving the captain alone. He spotted the knight and his servant on the ground overlooking a large tree within the fortress boundaries.

"I suppose we'll see how good of a fighter you are by morn, for they will undoubtedly think you are a part of the empire. I simply hope we do not die in vain." The captain turned away from the window, and headed out of his office toward his quarters.

* * *

Within their temporary residence, the unkindled examined his gear within his bottomless box. The Firekeeper was currently trying to understand the new feeling within her chest. Perhaps this had something to do with the first flame. The Ashen one had been examining his gear all night, both of them being undead, they did not technically need sleep to function. Perhaps she could ask him?

"Ashen one? May I ask thee thou opinion?" At her quandary, the ashen one turned to her, and nodded. "I have a strange feeling within me, that burning feeling I told you of before. It does not hurt, but instead it filleth me with a strange energy." The unkindled remembered what she had said when he had first woke up, and walked over to her again, once again feeling a bonfire within her.

"It feels as if you are a bonfire, but its different from every other bonfire I've encountered." The Firekeeper nodded.

"I believe this might have something to with the quenching of the first flame." The Firekeeper said, and at her words, the Ashen one seemed to put some pieces of this puzzle together. Suddenly the sound of horns, and men yelling could be heard outside. It appeared as though another attack would be taking place sooner than the undead thought. It was time to leave.

"Take this, I'll be back." Adrien said, before giving the Firekeeper a dagger, and leaving the room. The Ashen one headed toward where the main gate was, seeing that something was ramming against the wooden gate, attempting to gain entrance. He passed the gate, and located the captain not too far away. "I wish to leave." The unkindled said curtly, having reached Armin. The captain dismissed the men he had been giving orders, and addressed Adrien.

"I'm sorry, but the only way any of us are getting out of this fortress, is either in a coffin, or covered in blood. They have us completely surrounded now, and they have a huge battering ram, aiming to take down the gates. You can either help, or wait for them to find you, but if I may ask, I would request your help. We need as much help as possible." After the captain's explanation, the unkindled stood there, and did not respond immediately. Eventually the unkindled turned around and walked back to his quarters. The captain's spirits immediately fell.

"We'll see I suppose." The unkindled said, before continuing onward. As he was walking along side the wall of the fortress, heading toward his room, the tops of ladders appeared at the edges of the walls above him. The invaders were climbing the walls. Soldiers on the wall had been shot with arrows, evidence by their bodies, which had fallen off the walls, and now littered the ground around him, the blood staining parts of the previously green grass.

Revolutionaries climbed from the ladder, to the wall, and seeing there were no other defenders on the walls around them, went down to the ground. In total, there about twelve of them, in various states of armament. The best of the soldiers was a large man equipped with a large gladiator style helmet, some shoulder plates, and wielded a halberd, but other than that, not much armor was on him. The worst of the soldiers only wielded two large daggers, and seemed to be looking for a fight.

"Hey look theres one more!" One soldier shouted, getting the attention of the others, all of them looking at Adrien. "Why don't we take him down before move for the keep?" Another said cockily. The unkindled drew his sword, and readied his shield, if these people wanted a fight, he would give it to them.

"I am not a part of the empire, nor do I wish to fight you, let me pass, and I will ignore you." The unkindled said, and the revolutionary with the two large daggers got close to him.

"HAHA Yeah right, I think we'll just take your armor from you now, besides what are you gonna do? Its twelve on one." After this statement the invaders began circling the undead, but the one with the two daggers remained where he was. "Lets see what you can do!" The eccentric man rushed forward, aiming to jump onto the Ashen one, however the Ashen one waited only a moment, and right as the man was at the height of his jump, the undead thrust his short sword forward, impaling him. The man was shocked, and so were his comrades, eventually the man died while still impaled, and hovering a couple of feet off the ground. The Ashen one had kept him there, surprised at how easily he had killed the man.

 _These men must be mortals, even weak hollows wouldn't have died that quickly._ The Ashen one thought. Another soldier attempted to strike at him from behind with a sword, but sensing the attack, dropped the corpse that was once a man, and slashed horizontally. He hacked off both of the man's arms when he had done this. The soldier screamed wildly, before the undead finished him off by decapitating the poor soldier.

"Bastard!" The largest and most most heavily armored one yelled, and attempted to strike the undead from behind. With inhuman speed, the undead turned around and blocked the attack with relative ease. "How the hell?" if this was an undead, then perhaps the undead would have been impressed with himself, but not only was he stronger than average undead, he was fighting mortals. Even the weakest undead could easily overpower the strongest mortal. These people didn't know any better, and they simply saw one of the strongest people in this army, be easily stopped by some random knight.

Wordlessly the Unkindled struck the large man, instantly cutting through the man, and killing him almost instantly. The armor did nothing, and blood now thoroughly coated both the undead's sword, and the ground around him. Next two soldiers struck from his front at the same time, he timed the strikes, and managed to kill one while he was striking, but the other one hit his helmet. He did not react to the strike, instead he simply swung again, ripping through the other one's flesh. The strike to his helmet had done nothing because of his armor, and his inhuman resistances.

 _Five down, seven to go._ Another two attempted to flank both his sides, as the Ashen one counted. Using the dexterity he could muster, he jumped up, kicking one of them in the head, and blocking the attack of the other one. The ashen one thrust his sword into the first one, and quickly spun around, and, while twisting his body, decapitated the other, all in one swift motion.

"Rush him!" One shouted, as all but one of the soldiers rushed the undead. Thye had all made one big mistake however, they had all attacked at once. Timing the attacks perfectly, the unkindled parried all of them at once, and followed up by decapitating them all. Blood poured from their wounds as the bodies tried to supply their non-connected heads with the life giving liquid. Souls reached Adrien, each soldier not giving many.

The last one remaining was shaking violently, and could barely stand because of the fear that had been driven into his heart. _This man...he's not normal, he must be an imperial arms user, theres no other explanation! I need to report this!_ As these thoughts ran through the man's head, he realized he had been frozen, and the knight could have easily killed him. Once he regained his ability to act, he immediately ran back up onto the wall, and back down the ladder to the other side.

The ashen one sighed, as he slightly regretted having to kill these men, but they had brought it upon themselves. Adrien continued toward his room, and thought about what might happen now. _That survivor will most likely report about me, and I'll become a target for the revolutionaries. Perhaps I should go to the capital. Considering what I just did, theres only one group of people around here that can help me get there._ He reached his room, and he opened the door to find the Firekeeper in the same place he had left her.

"Ashen one, I smelleth blood, ist thoust alright?" The Firekeeper asked, with concern in her voice.

"I'm fine, thats not my blood. Juts stay here, I'm going to help out our situational allies." At this, he left, seeing no soldiers of any kind around, he was confident the Firekeeper would be fine for now. Then he left to join the fray. There wasn't much else to say, the Firekeeper knew what he was about to do, and he did not have time to explain anyway.

"Captain, they're breaking through!" One soldier yelled, as another arrow barely missed the poor sod. Captain Armin was simply overlooking the scene, his dead men laying on the ground due to archer fire. Several men were trying to hold the door as the battery ram on the other side continued to pound against the wooden gateway. Others were treating the wounded, and more were firing arrows back at the attackers, with little luck. There wasn't much he could do in this situation, his men were doing they're best, but if they got pushed back to the keep, then there would be little chance of them surviving. Like there was already.

The sound of splintering wood signaled the invader's success, and the battery ram burst through the door, sending the men trying to hold it back flying. The soldiers on both sides clashed, but it was clear that the revolutionaries were winning. The imperial soldiers were too tired from the constant attacks, and had little to no faith in their survival. That all changed when the mysterious knight came to their aide. He cut down two of the invaders with ease, and using the momentum, kept swinging, tearing through the enemy ranks.

One after another they would fall, wether by impalement, dismemberment, decapitation, or simply large gashes and wounds, the invader's blood continued to flow onto the ground due to Adrien. The battle had been pushed back to the courtyard, even with the undead's help, the enemy's overwhelming numbers were still a problem. There were multiple instances where Adrien had to roll in-between soldier, and their ranks in order to escape being trapped between them. So now both the renewed defenders, and the now wary invaders were staring each other down in the courtyard, seemingly at a stalemate.

"I heard there was a problem on the front." A voice called, and the owner of it stepped forward from the invader's side, revealing a young man with a shield and sword with expensive looking armor everywhere on him except for his head. "It appears as though the empire has finally sent some reinforcements, in the form of one man. Is that all they could spare to this pathetic group of me?" A great deal of malice was laced in his voice as he stared down Adrien.

"Be careful Damien, he's killed a lot of our men." A solder said to the man that had stepped forward, Adrien took note of the experienced look he gave him. This warrior was not going to be as easy to defeat as the others.

"We'll see how careful I need to be." Damien then walked forward, and the undead mirrored his action, and lowered his shield to an unguarded position. "Its good to see another worthy opponent. This will be enjoyable." At his words, the undead bowed to him as a sign of respect. While he wouldn't say it, the undead could tell that this man would still be easy to kill. He seemed experienced, and confident, but Adrien's status as an undead would still be too much for him to handle. The warrior mirrored Adrien's action, and readied his shield. The undead put his shield on his back, and took his sword in both his hands.

They circled each other, Damien with his shield up, and his sword peaking over it, and Adrien keeping his sword in the signature straight sword stance. Once in range, the undead stepped forward twice, and thrust his sword upward, and broke Damian's guard, but the sword kept going, and almost thrusted through the man's head. He had backed up a step, just enough to avoid the deadly blow. The undead kept on the offensive, slashing at the man, however Damien just barely managed to avoid each one. Adrien stopped when he was running low on stamina, and took a moment to analyze his opponent. The soldiers had been watching the whole time, all of them in awe of the undead's skill.

"It appears that I am out of my league." Damian said, breaking the silence that had filled the courtyard. "Your no normal man, you have an imperial arms don't you? That would explain your strength and speed. No matter, Even if I am defeated, we will take this fortress." Several men from both sides gasped at his words.

"What is an imperial arms?" Adrien asked, which made another bout of silence encompass the area. Once again it was broken by Damien, who bursted out laughing, making the undead, and several of the men confused. _Imperial arms? Is that some kind of weapon, and why is he so amused?_ The undead's thoughts were interrupted by Damien speaking.

"You hold power that could rival rival a whole army, and yet you do not know what it is? That is just so funny to me." Damien laughed, and then rushed the undead. Adrien dodged every strike, and once a sufficient opening had shown itself, he struck back. Damien's blood went splattering across the stone yard, as the undead inflicted a nasty gash on the man's side. "Well, I should have expected this, at least I can say I fought an imperial arms user, and lasted more than a minute. Thank you for this duel...Knight." After this, the man slumped forward, as a decent amount of souls entered Adrien's body. The undead observed the body for a moment, before facing the rest of the invaders.

"I would suggest you leave, before you suffer the same fate." Adrien said eerily, and the invaders took a moment to think about his words.

"Damien wouldn't have wanted us to flee! We're taking this fortress one way or another!" One of the soldiers shouted. Suddenly a hail of arrows rained themselves down on Adrien and the other defenders. Adrien brought his shield up, and easily blocked the incoming projectiles. The imperial solders were not so lucky. Some of them got hit, some of them got lucky, and others were able to bring their shields up just in time, if they even had shields. The sound of boots rushing got the Ashen one's attention, as it was from his back, instead of where the invaders would have rushed. More imperial soldiers showed up, each with strange metal staves in their hands. Including the captain himself, who had donned a much more appropriate set of armor.

"Open fire!" Armin yelled, and the soldiers with guns lit up the revolutionaries like a Christmas tree. Many died in that hail of bullets, as the undead looked on with awe. _If they have this kind of technology, then why don't the just equip every soldier with one? Perhaps... it is too expensive?_ The undead though this as literal droves of enemies were cut down. Just as suddenly as it started, the firing stopped, and the invaders were able to somewhat re-cooperate. "Men, Charge!" While he certainly wasn't obligated to follow the captain's orders, the undead was not going to pass up the opportunity to attack an enemy who's guard was down. He rushed the closest man, and jumped onto the soldiers chest, shoving him down. Adrien stabbed the man while he was down, and slashed the next closest soldier, killing him as well. Adrien kicked the next man in the stomach, and slashed another, who managed to block the strike, but the guard was broken. He grabbed the same man's head and thrusted his sword into the man's stomach. Blood spewed onto the undead''s armor, and he backed up, to stab the first man in his head.

The Defenders fought ruthlessly, and the invaders were having trouble fighting them off due to the additional reinforcements, and due to the undead's skill. Although the imperials still suffered casualties, the revolutionaries were now losing badly. Eventually they were driven back to the gate, where their line shattered, and they fled back to wherever the had come from. The soldiers got to work packing fixing the gate, and the undead stood guard to make sure they could do so in peace.

It took all of the rest of the day, but the soldiers had managed to somewhat replace the door. Although it was still very temporary. That night the imperials celebrated with drink and song, while also mourning their dead. Although considering many of them had expected to die that day, it was unsurprising that the happiness was more prevalent than the sorrow. The undaed joined in some of the drinking, but mostly stayed out of the celebrations, although many of the soldiers had praised him for his skill and bravery, many of them also just as curious if he had an imperial arms. Eventually the unkindled managed to sneak away from the party, but someone was waiting for him.

"Thank you, Knight Adrien." Armin said with humbleness. "If it wasn't for you, all of my men, including myself would probably be dead, or captured." Adrien simply nodded in acknowledgment. "If there is anything I can do to repay you, simply name it."

"Actually there is one thing I require." Adrien said, which got the captain's attention. "I need passage to the capital."

* * *

"Are you sure about this? The capital is not a very friendly place, even to those of us aligned with the empire, unless you have the kind of morals they do, and you don't get in their way, I doubt you'll find much success there." Armin warned as he helped saddle Adrien's horse. The undead had been concerned to ride such a beast, especially since he had never sone so. This had surprised the captain, and Armin had given him a few lessons in horseback riding the day earlier in preparation for the journey. The Firekeeper would have to ride on the same horse, as they could only spare one of their few horses.

"I'm sure, Its the only place I can feel myself making any kind of difference." Adrien said curtly, and the Firekeeper approached the horse's head, the two seeming to be very interested in each other. "I have no real connections to this world, I might as well make some with the higher ups." Adrien looked to the captain, who was holding something out to him. It was a letter, rolled up with a blue ribbon, and sealed with a similarly blue wax emblem. The undead took it, looking at it with interest.

"Well, you certainly made a difference here. That right there is an officer's seal, if you need anything within the capital, this can get it for you in a heartbeat. Just don't give it away." Adrien looked at Armin for a moment before nodding in gratefulness. Two soldiers helped the Firekeeper onto the horses back, and following the captain's orders from the other day, he hopped onto the horses back, his armor seemingly bothering the horse little. "Be careful, and watch your back, if you make friends, theres a good chance the might stab you there." Once again Adrien nodded in thanks, before he left the Fortress from a secondary entrance they had made so the undead did not get caught by the revolutionaries. Setting off with a map the captain had provided, the undead and the firekeeper headed toward the capital.

* * *

A knock was heard as Najenda just finished packing to go back to the capital. She sighed, ever she had returned to headquarters she had been repeatedly asked about the success of missions, and the status of the capital and Night raid. It seemed even though she should have left a few hours ago, they still had more questions, or reports, she had gotten plenty of those. The one-eyed one-armed former general of the empire stepped away from her bags and papers, to the door to her room.

"What?" She asked annoyed as she opened the door, only to see two men, one who had the unmistakable mask of a revolutionary spy with who appeared to be an ordinary soldier. "Make it quick, I need to leave."

"Of course." The spy said, his older experienced voice telling her hat this was important. before handing her a drawing of a knight's helmet with a smaller depiction of what appeared to be his full suit, and other parts of the armor to the sides. "This knight defended the imperial fortress of stand guard during a final push on it, which would have brought it into our hands, but apparently the actions of this knight pushed the favor of the battle in the empire's side. This soldier was the sole survivor of twelve that attempted to infiltrate the keep from the side, and flank the imperials. Tell her what you saw son."

"I-I saw him kill all of my comrades in no time. He didn't kill me, and I managed to escape, but he took down some of our finest with ease. I can also confirm that he killed Damien, the finest warrior in our battalion. From what I heard, he also killed him with relative ease." The soldier finished, and Najenda looked at the drawing once again. "If I may ma'am, I believe he might be an imperial arms user. He just was too fast for anyone normal."

"Is this your opinion? That he wielded an imperial arms?" Najenda asked the soldier, who nodded. "Well, I appreciate the info, but I'm headed to the capital, why do I need to know?" The spy spoke up at her inquiry.

"Because scouts reported seeing a knight on a horse with an unknown female heading toward the capital from the fortress. When the scouts were shown that picture, they were sure it was him, it would appear the empire wants him in the capital for some reason. Of course that would be yours and night raid's territory." At the spy's words, Najenda's eyes widened slightly, and she once again looked at the picture.

"Noted, but unless he directly stands in the way of night raid operations, he will be considered a secondary target." Najenda stated, and the spy nodded in understanding, the solier on the other hand looked offended.

"But ma'am! At least a hundred soldiers fell to that man! Your just going to let him run free!?" Both Najenda and the spy looked at the solder for a second, before she responded.

"And a thousand more will die tomorrow if we don't stamp out the corruption in the capital, I understand how you feel, I really do, but I've never heard of this man, nor seen his armor anywhere else. Given that information, he doesn't seem to be directly responsible for any crimes being committed. Not to mention, you said it was your opinion that he had an imperial arms correct? Which means that he might not even posses one." Najenda paused to let her words sink into the soldier. "I promise that If I can, I'll make him pay for what he's done, but right now we need to focus on catching the big fish, alright?" To this, he soldier nodded, and bowed.

"Yes ma'am, I'm sorry for bursting out like that!" The soldier said apologetically. Najenda simply laughed.

"I said I understand, now go get some rest, you've earned it." At that, the spy escorted the soldier back toward where his quarters would be. She closed the door, looking at the drawing once more, before putting it with the other targets. "Well, this will certainly be a busy time for us won't it?" She said to herself, before getting the rest of her things ready to go.

* * *

"Ashen one, dost thou truly think this capital is the best place to go?" The Firekeeper asked,and the undead looked around him at the night, the sun had set, and he had let his horse sleep for the night. He knew that it needed to sleep, so he figured a stop would be beneficial. He saw the Firekeeper on the ground, lying on her side, with her arm propping her upper body up, much like Irene or Karla.

"Right now? Yes, if there is any reason as to our surviving, and our being here, it would be there." He responded, and he looked up to see the moon and the stars, the moonlight doing little to light their place on the forest floor. His gear was no longer covered in his victims blood thanks to a stream he had found near the fortress before he had left. The little moonlight that shone through the trees reflected off his armor, and reminded him of a certain sword within his bottomless box. He looked to the Firekeeper once again, before resting across from her, content to be in her company as they eventually drifted off to sleep. A sleep that was long overdue.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **This is my first attempt at a crossover, I'll do my best, but constructive criticism is always welcome. I've been wanting to do a crossover for a while, and I settled on Dark souls and Akame ga kill because I love the anime, and I love the game. While I could have done Skyrim or Fallout I feel like I would have wound up making my character OP, cause thats how my characters in the game are lol.**

 **So I will be updating my other story still, but I've started this one just so If I get a writers block with one chapter, I can work on the other story's chapter instead. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2-Soul of the Ogre

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga kiru**

 **Soul of the Ogre**

The unkindled had changed from his basic knight armor to the fallen knight set in order to somewhat shield himself from the rain. The Firekeeper rode with him on their horse on their way to the capital. It had started to rain lightly, and Adrien had given the Firekeeper a sorcerers robe to keep herself dry. Adrien did not really know rain, as he was more familiar with it's frozen cousin, snow. Mostly due to the land of Ariandel. He still had the knight shield equipped, but instead of the short sword, he had equipped the lothric knight sword. As they rode, the Ashen one and the Firekeeper did not speak, instead keeping to themselves, and thinking about their current situation. Captain Armin had warned the unkindled about creatures called danger beats, but he had not encountered any such creatures during their ride. Soon though the rain let up, and the further they rode, the better they could hear what sounded like laughter.

"Haha! You can't catch me!" A child's voice rang out, and the Ashen one nearly did a double take. He could not remember the last time he had seen or even heard a child, perhaps it was before he even became an undead, when he was still as alive as the inhabitants of this world. The forest to their right seemed to open up, revealing a log cabin, and three children running around playing a game only they knew the rules to. There were two young boys, and a young girl, one of the boys looked slightly older than the others, suggesting he was the eldest sibling.

"No fair!" The other boy cried in frustration, he appeared to be the youngest, and the girl was trying to catch the eldest boy, but both her and the younger boy were just out of the reach of the eldest. Ahead the road swerved to the left sharply, as there was a cliff directly ahead. However the trees around the road at that point made it hard to see over the cliff. He heard the rustle of grass stop, signaling that the children had stopped.

The eldest boy saw the knight on the horse with the lady on the back. He had never seen a knight before, and he had certainly never expected one to just ride down the road. It was weird how he had robes over his armor, but the armor underneath was unmistakable. A true knight, he looked back at his brother and sister, and saw they were staring at the man as well. He ran to the knight eager to see him up close, and to ask him of his adventures. His siblings soon followed.

"Wow!" The eldest boy exclaimed,and the unkindled stopped the horse. "A real knight! Are you coming from the front?" The boy asked eagerly. The unkindled had not expected the children to come up to him, surly a man in near full plate armor would be quite the sight, but shouldn't these children know that its dangerous to talk to well armed strangers.

"Have you killed a lot of rebels!? C'mon tell us!" The youngest exclaimed even more eagerly, clearly inexperienced with how conversations and manners worked. Or perhaps he was so excited he forgot his place.

"How do you even know he's a part of the empire?" The girl asked, clearly more apprehensive than her brothers. The brothers almost looked offended.

"Of course he's apart of the empire! The rebels could never get a knight like him on their side!" The youngest one rebutted. Even though they didn't know him, the children seemed to be defending Adrien's not existent ties to the empire. It amused the Unkindled, how imaginative children could be. He wasn't bothered by their assertion, but was a little concerned what would happen if their father showed up. As if on cue, the door to the cabin opened raveling a woman in a long dress, and her selves rolled up, and as soon as her eyes took sight of the ashen one, they were filled with worry and dread. The unkindled noted the stark contrast between the wonderment he saw in the children, and the worry he saw in the mother.

"He probably has plenty of cool stories right Mr. Knight?" The eldest asked, not noticing his mother coming up from behind them.

"Come along children, don't bother the good knight, i'm sure he's very busy." She says nervously, and attempts to corral the children around her. The children awwed in disappointment, even the girl, who had gotten very curious about the knight. Adrien hopped off the horse, surprising the family, and making the Firekeeper curious.

"Its no problem, I suppose I could tell them a story if you don't mind." Adrien asked, and the mother, while reluctant, did not sense any hostility from the knight, and she nodded. The children's eyes lit up in excitement, and when the unkindled sat on the ground, the children did the same around him. "This is the story of a great giant called Yhorm, and his friend Siegward..." The unkindled regaled the children with the tale of Yhorm, but made sure not to get too graphic. The children were enamored with the tale, astonished by the tales of the giant's strength, and felt sorrow at the human's betrayal of Yhorm. "...So I met him, Yhorm was on his throne, and from my side Siegward joined me, while he may not have wanted too, he had a duty to vanquish the giant. There was a sword next to the throne that would allow me to easily vanquish the giant, and so I dodged each strike, and took the sword. Siegward already had an identical sword. Together we took the giant down, but having finished his duty, and not being a part of mine, Siegward left this world, content in his actions. So that ends the story." The children's mouth's were agape, while the mother seemed slightly amused with her children's reactions. It seemed she didn't really believe Adrien's story. The sky had turned to a slight orange, signaling evening had begun.

"I believe I must leave now, although I'm glad to have met you all. You all have a pleasant evening." Adrien says, and once again mounts the horse. However the eldest boy comes up to him with a determined smile on his face.

"One day, I'll become just like you! I'll become a knight and beat back the rebel's for the empire!" He exclaimed confidently, and his mother immediately looked worried. Clearly she did not really support her child's decision.

"If you truly wish to, then you must work hard, many will try to start you, and you will face many obstacles if you are a knight. Make sure it is what you truly want." With his peace given, the unkindled continued down the road, and as he reached the cliff he heard the girl say something.

"I forgot to ask who that lady was!" She exclaimed, but the Ashen one did not stop, at the cliff he observed a large city, perhaps even larger or just as large as the ringed city. Although the castle in the center of it seemed to be slightly smaller than most other castles he's seen. There were several other smaller neighborhoods that surrounded the main city, as well as he could make out a few large mansions, although many were surrounded by trees. The forest that seemed to encompass the entire landscape undoubtedly hid many secrets. This was only one angle of the Capital as well. Truly this was an impressive city. The Firekeeper's head lifted slightly, sensing they were close to the city.

"Canst thou see the city Ashen one?" The Firekeeper asked, shifting slightly on the horse. "I feeleth the Darkness within it, Be cautious Ashen one." Adrien did not respond, but instead continued to observe the city, seeing the kind of environment he has found himself in. This city of mortals did not seem any more dangerous than anything else he had faced, in fact it seemed much safer than anywhere else he had been. However he couldn't get rid of the feeling that while it seemed safer than anor londo, or the ringed city, in reality it was just as dangerous.

* * *

"Works for me, prepare yourself for a life unlike any other. Welcome to night raid!" Najenda announced to Tatsumi, who had just been convinced by the leader of Night Raid to join their ranks. The other members of night raid had helped convince the young man as well, in their own ways, and while normally Najenda would have dismissed everyone for the night, there was something she needed to tell them all. "Before you are all dismissed, I have some exciting news, we have a new secondary target."

"Secondary target?" Tatsumi asked curiously. The tapestry of Night Raid's banner hovered above the seat Najenda was currently in, and seemed to make the environment more ominous with Najenda's announcement. The tan walls around them resonated a very official feeling even while talking about targets for assassination. While the rest of Night raid seemed interested. Bulat decided that he would explain exactly what secondary targets were in Night raid.

"Secondary targets are basically normal targets, but are not directly involved in corruption or horrible acts. A great example would be a skillful mercenary that plays for both sides, or those guards that we killed last night. While they weren't directly involved in the act, they are just as guilty. However since these secondary targets aren't often heads of acts or such, killing them won't account to much change." After Bulat explained, Leone decided to add in her own comment.

"Yea, but their pretty fun though, say your off to take down a primary target, and then a secondary target is just walking down the street at night by themselves. Suddenly you take down two birds with one stone!" Leone says enthusiastically, a little too enthusiastic for Tatsumi's liking.

"Anyway's, this secondary target is particularly interesting." Najenda says, regaining control of the conversation. She pulls out a roll of paper, and unfurls it, revealing a sketch of some expensive looking armor, with a few other sketches of a shield, short sword, and a bigger sketch of the helmet. "He appears to be a highly skilled knight, and he single handedly turned the tide at fort Stand Guard during the last attack. One of the survivors aid he killed more than a hundred men by himself. The last time he was seen he was heading toward the capital on a horse with an unknown woman. If you see someone in armor like this, you know what to do." As she finished, the rest of night raid nodded in understanding.

"hmpf, he shouldn't be too hard to take out." Mine commented, looking at the picture. While his armor looked tough, Pumpkin would be more than enough to take him out. Although she would never get close enough to actually test his melee skills, she was sure that if push comes to shove she could take him out either way.

"What!? But he single handedly defended a fortress! He killed a hundred guys!" Tatsumi blurted, not sure why the sniper of the team seemed so lax.

"Figures, you really are a country bumpkin." Mine insulted, and before Tatsumi could defend himself, Akame decided to explain Mine's laxness.

"While taking down a hundred men is quite an achievement, any of us could do the same. Even without our imperial arms." Akame said matter-of-factly, and Tatsumi's eyes widened. _All of them have that kind of skill? If thats true, then I'm going to need to get better._ Leone chuckled at his expression.

"You would be the obvious exception. Don't worry though, you'll get better with time." Leone said encouragingly. Tatsumi sighed, while her words made him feel a little better, he still had a long way to reach that level. Tatsumi then realized that if he met that knight, and attempted to take him down, he wouldn't stand a chance.

"Just be cautious, when I spoke with a witness, he shared his opinion that the knight wields an imperial arms." Najenda warned, and immediately the atmosphere in the room changed with those words, but Tatsumi was slightly confused. Akame and Bulat did not give much of a reaction, knowing that this was simply the opinion of a witness, and not necessarily truth. Sheele gave no reaction, and mine seemed to give more interest in the knight. Leone smiled somewhat sadistically, and Lubbock also seemed to give a little more interest in their new secondary target. "Of course that's just an opinion, so don't take it too seriously, but do be cautious if you face him. Your all dismissed." Najenda then stood up, and faced both Tatsumi and Akame. "For now Tatsumi, you'll be training under Akame. Akame, if he becomes too much of a nuisance, you can kill him." Tatsumi stiffened at the comment.

"Understood." Akame said flatly, and Tatsumi became even more nervous. After seeing her skill, he had no doubt that she wouldn't have a hard time. Leone came over and wrapped her arm around Tatsumi's shoulders.

"Better do well, or else she'll kill ya." Leone chuckled at Tatsumi's nervousness. _I'm training with her!? I'm so dead._ Tatsumi thought, and soon they all left the room for the night. Most having thoughts of their new secondary target, and thinking about how they might encounter the knight. Najenda seemed thoughtful, mostly on her new recruit. He showed promise, and Leone spoke for him, but she couldn't help but feel that Tatsumi will have a hard time adapting to night raid's lifestyle. Only time will tell if he makes it or not.

* * *

"I require residence here." The unkindled said flatly as he held up the captain's seal to the innkeeper's face. Him and the Firekeeper had stopped at a inn-stable combo that was just outside the main city, giving it an away from the hustle feel. While it was far past evening, by the time Adrien and the Firekeeper had reached the capital, there were still quite a few people out on the streets. So to get away from the majority of the populace, the unkindled settled on this inn to stay at for the time.

One look at the seal, and the innkeeper immediately began writing down the paperwork necessary for the unkindled's room. He had a nervous expression on his face, indicating that he did not want to upset anyone with such influence. The Ashen one noted that his reaction was more one of fear than of respect. _Perhaps this is the corruption that Armin warned me of._ After the innkeeper put the horse in the stable area, one of the maids led me and the Firekeeper to our room. It had two beds, and was rather bland, but it would work for the unkindled's needs. The Firekeeper sat down on the bed to the right, while the Ashen one sat on the bed to the left.

"What now Ashen one? Dost thou requireth more power?" The Firekeeper asked, and the unkindled shook his head. While Adrien had enough souls to increase his power, not only did he find it unnecessary in a land of mostly mortals, he also wanted to see what else he could do with his souls. It seemed like the residents of this capital used currency, so using souls to trade would not work, but perhaps he could attempt to upgrade his equipment with his souls. Andre had not taught him much in infusing weapons with souls, but he knew enough to at least attempt it. The unkindled put his hand into the bottomless box on his belt, and began to siphon through it's content, mostly the armor within the box. While he wanted to remain inconspicuous, if he needed to switch to a better armor set on short notice, then he needed to make sure it was handy.

"I believe for now we just stay here." Adrien said as he continued to organize the inside of his magical box. "Tomorrow we will go out and explore the city. I wish to know more about this place as much as you do, but for now we lay low." The unkindled pulled out the notched whip, and put the whip on his belt. Perhaps it would serve some purpose in a world full of mortals. Before the whip barely made a dent in weak hollows, but the unkindled often found the extra reach with the whips quite useful for miscellaneous tasks. The Firekeeper laid down on the bed, still not used to the soft material. The unkindled continued to go through everything he had. Plenty of normal and great arrows, also plenty of resins for his weapons. The estus flask was still on his belt next to his ashen estus flask. The upgraded ring of favor, the upgraded chloranthy ring, the knight ring, and the sun princess ring were all still on his hands. Given that he had not seen a bonfire, and he was unsure if the supposed bonfire within the Firekeeper could restore his flask, he would need to preserve his estus. The sun princess ring would help with that.

The Ashen one gave thanks to the flame that the inn was relatively quiet, with the occasional yell or holler from the bar area below. Another good thing about the inn for the ashen one was that it was not a brothel. Such noise and atmosphere might be more than the unkindled could take. As the night continued, the unkindled felt the familiar feeling of the souls entering his body. It was quite different to feel souls enter his body when he was doing nothing, but it confirmed that the darkness of man was more than present here. Some of the amounts of souls were small, maybe ten nor twenty, however some were nearly sixty souls strong, which was impressive for a mortal to possess. Then there was the occasion he only felt one soul enter his body, which meant that a child had died. That humanity would unfortunately go to waste, but the fact that he had felt a child's soul enter his body made him more on edge, because the Firekeeper was almost like one when it came to defending herself.

The unkindled finally laid down on the bed, and attempted to get some sleep, however there was a feeling he had that somewhere, someone was plotting against him, or something of the sort. Perhaps his paranoia was truly settling in.

* * *

"Such lively streets, It Dost make it hard to remember this city ist quite infested with the dark." The Firekeeper commented as she and Adrien walked the streets of the local market place. It was only about a fifteen minute walk from the inn they were staying at, but it seemed as though they were now in a bustling part of the city. The unkindled chose to ignore the souls that had entered him during their walk. The Firekeeper could feel the energy of those walking around them, and aside from the Ashen one, none of the persons around her had the curse of the undead. This would make it easy for the Firekeeper to identify who was the Ashen one, and who wasn't. She could also smell the fresh bread form the bakers, the smell of iron from the blacksmiths, and the smell of all the people going on with their daily lives.

"Well, it does not look like there is anything here we need. Unfortunately." The unkindled commented as he looked around at the market stalls around him and the Firekeeper. There were a few weapon salesmen, and a few armor stands, but none of them had equipment anywhere near the quality of the weapons and armor Adrien had in his bottomless box. They continued onward, however he felt an unusual presence behind them.

"Excuse me!" A young girl's voice called to both Adrien and the Firekeeper. They turned around to see a girl with auburn hair tied into a pony tail, and a small creature on it's hind legs to her side with a collar and leash. she looked like an ordinary imperial guard, although the unkindled felt as if there was more to her than meets the eye. She suddenly shifted into a proper salute, but kept a cheerful smile on her face. "My name is Seryu Ubiquitous! Member of the imperial police! I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions sir?" The unkindled had not expected her to salute to him, but he nodded nonetheless. Best to do whatever the authorities said, perhaps this would help him with finding the reason he was here in the first place. "Thank you!" She said cheerfully.

Truthfully, Seryu felt more like fangirling than asking questions, as she had always been a huge fan of knights, but unfortunately she had to make sure he wasn't here to start any trouble. While she hardly doubted that, several civilians had mentioned their concern to her. It definitely wasn't reassuring he had that suspicious looking cloak on, and that he didn't have any indication he was a member of the empire. Nonetheless his armor was a dead give away, this man was a true knight.

"I was just want to know who you are, and why you are here. Some of the locals are a little wary of your appearance. Hope you don't mind Mr. Knight." Seryu said, trying to sound as dismissive and as kind as possible. The unkindled could understand, after all it wasn't everyday you see a stranger with a cloak over some dark looking armor.

"My name is Adrien, and I am simply exploring, I have never been to the capital." The knight answered honestly, and Seryu found that kind of odd, as most knights she had heard of came from the capital, although its still completely possible for people out in the country to become knights, its just unlikely.

"So I imagine you aren't a part of the empire then?" Seryu asked curiously. If he wasn't from the capital, and he didn't have any clear credentials, it would seem he'd be more of a self-made knight, which is still a knight. Almost like a rouge or mercenary knight, while not as Honorable as a proper knight, she could still respect him for what he was.

"No, I am not."

"Ah, well thats fine I suppose, so where are you from then?" The unkindled had not expected that, however he had an easy answer.

"We've come from fort Stand Guard, and was forced to defend myself from the revolutionaries who attacked me, believing I was an imperial knight." The unkindled answered honestly, believing mentioning his defense might get this guard off his back. Seryu's eyes brightened in excitement, and Adrien could tell he had made a slight miscalculation.

"Really!? How many did you kill? Were you ever hit? Oh I bet you sent those evildoers packing!" Seryu exclaimed proudly. It was quite something to meet something from the front, but another to meet a knight that had fought on the front.

The unkindled was slightly uncomfortable about the amount of questions she had asked him, so he opted to answer sparsely. "I fought them off, I might have killed around a hundred." Seryu looked absolutely ecstatic, and got closer to the unkindled, making him feel even more wary of the girl. He also noticed how the creature leashed to her was having the same kind of reaction, looking just as excited as Seryu.

"Oh wow! I knew it, you might look suspicious, but your still a knight of justice! Oh, um, I don't think you introduced me to your friend. Whats her name?" Seryu asked, seeming to finally take notice of the Firekeeper, who had been silently listening to them.

"I am a Firekeeper, I am the Ashen one's humble servant." The Firekeeper said simply. Seryu nodded in understanding, before her face contorted to confusion.

"I guess that makes sense, but if your his servant, why are you blind, and why did you call Mr. Adrien 'the Ashen one'?" Before Adrien could reply, the Firekeeper spoke first.

"My eye's Dost not hinder mine servitude to the Ashen one, and that name I callest him is his title. Or more appropriately, the Champion of Ash." The Firekeeper explained. The unkindled rarely had a glance into the Firekeeper's personalty, as she often put her servitude above herself, but this is one of the few times the Firekeeper has shown some initiative of her own.

"Oooo, is that a title from your village?" Seryu asked curiously, she had never heard of such a title, and it certainly sounded interesting.

The unkindled cursed to himself, while he didn't mind her speaking on her own, this has put him into a troubled spot with all the information the Firekeeper suddenly gave the guard. Eventually he was able to spin a believable enough tale, and they had to say goodbye to Seryu for her patrol continued elsewhere in the city. The tale was that he and the Firekeeper came from a village on the edge of the empire, where there was aright of passage in which the succeeder would receive the title of Champion of Ash. That would have to do for the time being, as he doubted anyone here would believe a word of their true origin.

Then the unkindled and the Firekeeper saw posters on a wall not to far away from an imperial recruitment office. One of the posters had a drawing of a young woman with long black hair, and who's name was Akame, although since the posters were in black ink, her hair could have been any color.. The next poster had a picture of a woman with short hair, and an eyepatch, the poster said her name was Najenda. The final poster had the picture of a man with an odd haircut, and his name was apparently Bulat. They all had high bounties on them, and were apparently members of an assassin group called night raid. While the unkindled would have enjoyed to hunt assassins, he had no interest in taking them down. At the very least the posters had been informative.

It was turning evening, and he lead the Firekeeper back to the inn, while he continued to explore the city at night. He wondered if he could find something to help him, and without worrying about the Firekeeper's safety, he could focus on finding something that was linked to the Darkness within the City.

Much later into the night, the unkindled felt the unmistakable sign of souls entering his body. This had happened multiple times that night, but what surprised him was the amount of souls that had been absorbed into him, it was as if a powerful enemy had been slain nearby. Adrien approached where the souls had come from. He walked down the wide street to eventually come down a smaller alleyway. He became more alert due to the darker atmosphere, but did not unsheathe his sword. He kept walking, and noticed a figure ahead. There was also a body on the ground, and the familiar smell of death was prevalent in the area. The figure in the alley seemed to hear the Ashen one's approach, and they turned around with their sword raised. The figure was a young man with unkept brown hair, he had what appeared to be a white duster, and underneath...some kind of sweater? They appeared to be threatened by the unkindled presence.

 _This isn't good._ Tatsumi thought as the knight stood in front of him. Ogre had taken a bit out of him, so he doubted he could take on a knight, but this one didn't look like the one Najenda had told him about. The cloak was a dead giveaway, but Tatsumi had still not expected to see a knight just appear. He was sure no one else was around when he had attacked Ogre. _I need to get out of here and make that report._ So Tatsumi suddenly jumped up, attempting to flee the scene as quickly as possible. The unkindled would not let that happen.

Adrien took his notched whip and threw the end at the fleeing assassin. The whip wrapped around the boy's right ankle, the spikes on the whip digging into his flesh, and causing him to cry out in pain as he fell back to the ground. The unkindled rushed forward with impressive speed, and was soon upon the boy in the duster.

 _No, not like this._ Tatsumi had attempted to free himself from the spikes now imbedded into his ankle, making him bleed and alarming amount. However the knight was upon him faster than he had expected. He though that the knight would kill him then and there, but instead the cloaked knight pulled the whip back hard enough to free the notches from Tatsumi's flesh. As expected, this hurt like fucking hell. He tried to retrain his blood curdling scream, and managed to quiet it, but the knight still heard the scream at least. The unkindled put the whip back on his belt, and knelt next to Tatsumi. Tatsumi raised his sword, and attempted to slice at the knight, but he caught it with his hand. Tatsumi's eyes widened at how easily the knight had blocked his attack, and was even more surprised when the knight took the sword form his hand, throwing it aside, leaving the young assassin defenseless. _This is it, killed on my first mission. Sayo, Leyasu, I'm sorry, I've failed you. Both of you._ Tatsumi was ready for any pain that would come with his death, but it never came, instead he heard the knight speak.

"Who are you?" The unkindled asked the boy, while he wasn't all to interested in him personally, but this could be the Ashen one's chance for some real answers. "I will tell you my name if you tell me yours." The Ashen one offered in order to sweeten the deal.

Tatsumi had not expected that question, so he laid there on the ground for a while. Eventually he regained his senses. "My name is Tatsumi, and yours?" He asked, almost threateningly.

"My name is Adrien, so why did you kill that man?" The unkindled asked sternly. Tatsumi now saw just why he was stopped from fleeing, this man just wanted to know, or at least it appeared to be. Maybe he wouldn't die tonight.

"Because he framed innocents for crimes they didn't commit, and would accept bribes from criminals." Tatsumi said matter of factly. "So, why do you want to know?"

"Because I was curious. So what is the evidence you have for this?" The unkindled asked, looking back at the corpse of the fallen man. He looked back to Tatsumi, reading his expressions.

"A woman told us that her fiance was falsely framed and executed, and the evidence we acquired cemented that." The unkindled did not respond to his comment, instead he put that into his mind for later use, potentially. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Let you go, for now. I have not seen this evidence, for me its all words. I will not judge you, if you have seen the evidence, then I cannot blame you, but I have one more question." Tatsumi was somewhat surprised with Adrien's words, but remained stationary. "Are you a part of Night Raid?" Tatsumi had also not expected that, but the man was not openly hostile, nor had he killed him when he had plenty of opportunity to. So he decided to be honest.

"I am, why?" Tatsumi asked as carefully as possible. The knight looked at him for a bit, before talking again.

"Why do you assassinate people? Because they commit crimes, they're corrupt?" The unkindled was now genuinely curious about the group, and the more information he had, the better. Tatsumi nodded at the unkindled's question, and seemed ready to say something else. The unkindled took out his estus flask and handed it to Tatsumi. The young assassin looked at it curiously.

"Drink, it will help you heal." Tatsumi decided to do so, but only a sip, still cautious of Adrien. The substance made him glow a slight gold for only a second, but it was enough for Tatsumi to immediately put the flask down. The wound by his ankle started to heal, the large gashes in his flesh no longer flowing blood, but still remaining gashes. That was the unfortunate part of mortals. While the estus flask could help them heal, it would take much longer for them to fully heal their wounds. Of course most might say that being undead is the best thing in the world then, but it really isn't. While Adrien still had his senses, they were largely muddled. This included his sense of touch, which meant he was far less susceptible to pain, but that also meant he could not feel as finely as mortals. And his taste was almost completely gone. Being undead was not a pleasant experience in any sense of the word.

The unkindled took the flask, put it back on his belt, and started to walk back down the alley where he came from. Tatsumi didn't say a word, but instead thanked any god that would hear him that the knight had only wanted to talk. He stood up, and while painful, the drink from earlier had clearly helped his wound. He picked up his sword from the ground, and began heading back towards HQ, although more slowly. _That was certainly the knight, his strength and speed were certainly good enough, but since he wasn't affiliated with the empire, perhaps he could be recruited. Although, I don't think he wants to take anyone's side here._ Tatsumi thought to himself, and continued to ponder whether or not the knight would be a helpful ally, or a powerful enemy.

The Unkindled continued to walk down the street, contemplating the motives of Night Raid. _While they seem virtuous enough, I doubt they would ever help me find my purpose here. They would be too caught up in their own goals. I shall keep them in mind either way._ The unkindled did not notice Seryu walk down the same alleyway that he had just been down, and instead was more focused on the people around him. The people that ventured the night seemed to be slightly different than those that ventured the day. Many of them had cloaks of hoods over their heads, and some looked more nervous than anything, most likely trying to get home without getting hurt or worse.

The prevailing attitude of the city told Adrien everything he needed to know. While he had not experienced the City for long, he needed to find a way to put an end to whatever the source of this darkness was. What the source was he did not know, his sense of the dark was not as fine as the Firekeeper's It would be best to consult with her about it.

* * *

"So did you do it?" Najenda asked Tatsumi, who was currently about to report to her about his mission's success. Tatsumi smiled and nodded his head. Akame and Leone were also there, curious how their new member did.

"I did, Ogre the demon has been taken out. I don't think he'll be much trouble from now on. So how about that Akame? Am I an official member now?" He asked cockily. Akame looked at him skeptically.

"Your leaning on your left leg, why?" Akame asked emotionlessly, and Tatsumi deflated a little. However he didn't let down his prideful attitude.

"Well, After I had killed ogre, I saw our secondary target." This got everyone's attention. "i tried to flee, I was kinda tired from fighting, and I didn't think I'd be able to take on that knight as well. When I tried to jump away, he used some kind of barbed whip to catch my ankle." At this Tatsumi rolled up his pants leg to show the wound, which made the three girls around him somewhat sympathetic for him. "Anyways, he kept me down, and I attempted to strike him when he was close, but he caught my blade with his hand. Then he just asked me a bunch of questions, mostly about me and Night Raid. Also he wasn't wearing the same armor in the picture, unless he has some kind of twin brother, I'm sure thats who it was." Najenda processed this information before responding.

"What did you tell him?" Najenda asked, needing to know if he had revealed any sensitive information.

"Nothing incriminating, but I told him that we fought to rid the city of corruption. Considering he din't kill me the moment I admitted I was a member of Night raid, he probably isn't a part of the empire. Plus he haled my ankle, he gave me some kind of drink, and it stopped the bleeding. I think we might be able to recruit him! Think about if we had someone like him on our side." Tatsumi's enthusiastic response was not reciprocated by Najenda, or Akame, but Leone laughed after his tirade.

"Oh Tatsumi, thats just not how things work, but he does have a point boss." Leone said a little more seriously, and Najenda remained still.

"Tatsumi, while yes, he might be a powerful individual, he has openly opposed the revolution, and for all we know, he was just keeping you alive so you could report it back to me. Or maybe your right, and he has no affiliation to the empire, but for now he remains a target. Did you forget the fact that he attacked you?" Najenda rebutted, and Tatsumi wasn't sure what to say, as she made good points. "Speaking of, Akame please tend to his wounds once we're done here. Now, I'm glad you were able to take out Ogre, but please be more careful, especially if you encounter that knight again."

"He told me his name is Adrien." Tatsumi said suddenly, getting everyone's attention back on him. "The Knight, his name is Adrien." Najenda nodded, at the very least she had the man's name. Tatsumi was still disappointed that he couldn't at least get Najenda to think about recruiting the knight, but maybe he could later.

"Your dismissed." Najenda said, before she headed back to her office, Akame and Tatsumi went to tend to his wounds, and Leone went to mess with Lubbock.

* * *

"I feel the dark coming from the very heart of the City." The Firekeeper said, focusing to find the source of the darkness for the unkindled. "I feel it within the walls of a palace, however my sight endeth there. Why dost thou wisheth to know?" The unkindled thought for a second, he had asked the Firekeeper to find the source of the darkness prevalent within the city, and her response was not encouraging. He could have surmised it was coming from the imperial palace by himself.

"Because I still see no reason for us to be here, except for to rid this place of the corruption within the city. Finding the source would be the first step." Adrien responded, and the Firekeeper nodded at his assessment. She was also curious as to their presence here, but she would follow the Ashen one no matter what he decided to do. She was sitting on her bed within the room, while the Ashen one appeared to be mediating at the back of the room. She would not bother him, and so she decided to lay down, however she wouldn't go to sleep, instead she would attempt to further understand the fire within her chest that now encompassed some of her ability to sense the dark. It felt as if the darkness within her, and the flame also within her were fighting for supremacy. It didn't hurt, but it made it difficult to focus on one or another. She hoped that she would still be useful for the Champion of Ash in the future, that was all she truly wished.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **I'm back with another chapter of blades seeketh blood, and there isn't much to say, but it has been a little difficult to get used to writing in third person. I know I might be taking some artistic licenses with the Dark souls meaning of the Darkness of man, or maybe I'm getting it right. Its hard to tell. Let me know if you have any comments on it!**

 **The next thing I'll be working on is Blessings of God, like I said, it will be one chapter of that then a chapter of this, another one of that etc. etc. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3-Soul of the executioner

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga kiru.**

 **Soul of the executioner.**

Adrien had mixed feelings about the Dark. While it was useful in combat, he rarely did actually use it, apart from the occasional sorcery. Plus many of his enemies had either been tainted or consumed by the abyss, which was basically humanity, or darkness gone rampant. Normally a concentration of Dark wasn't much of an issue, but with so much corruption within the capital, there was true potential for said Darkness to go rampant. Especially with as much death as he had heard of, and felt within the city. All of which could mean the appearance of the Abyss, and Adrien did not like the Abyss. Darkeater Midir was enough of a reason to not want the Dark to become rampant.

Adrien was brought from his thoughts by the Firekeeper, who bit into a piece of dark brown bread in front of him, while he was content to watch the streets around him. They were both at a local bakery after the Firekeeper had caught scent of the goods. He had yet to partake in any kind of foodstuffs, but he was more than willing to use the captain's note to let the Firekeeper try them. The Firekeeper had long since wanted to try such trivial things, she had told him so on a few occasions within the shrine, even if she couldn't taste as well as the rest of the populace. One of his reason's for not eating was because of his armor, the fallen knight set did well to hide his true appearance, and he was not eager to make himself identifiable by his actual face.

"Art thou sure thoust dost not want any?" The Firekeeper asked for the third time in the past couple of hours. While normally she wouldn't be so pushy with the ashen one, she had quite enjoyed the section of foods he had procured for her thanks to the captain's note. One of the treats was something called a 'Brownie'. She had never heard of it before, but the chocolatey food was very delectable, even after her natural taste dilution.

"I'm sure." The unkindled responded the same way for the third time. He was beginning to become more and more curious about the sweets that had taken the Firekeeper's interest, and was considering buying some, before something caught his eye, or more accurately, someone. In the streets not too far from the outside table where they were sitting at was the brown haired assassin from the other night, and with was a short pink haired girl that wore a similarly pink dress. _Another member of Night raid I perhaps?_ Adrien thought to himself. _No, she looks far too fragile to be an assassin, perhaps the boy is watching over her or something?_ Adrien continues to watch them walk through the streets, until he can no longer see them due to the crowd, and the distance. _Maybe I should say hello again._ _There are more things I could ask about._

"Didst thou see something?" The Firekeeper asked, upon seeing his focused gaze, or at least more focused than before. The unkindled did not respond, instead he took his gaze from the street back to the Firekeeper, his helmet staring at her.

"We'll be leaving soon, let me know when your ready." The unkindled said curtly, and the Firekeeper nodded. She took another bite of the treat, and he watched her with interest, before taking a piece of the food, and bringing it up to his helmet's face. The Firekeeper watched him to see what he would do. Adrien slowly lifted his helmet's visor, for only a second, and ate the pice of brownie quickly, covering his face once again. The Firekeeper's head tilted to one side, and Adrien knew she wanted to know what he thought.

"It's good."

* * *

Tatsumi did not really think this was training. For the past hour or so, he had been doing nothing but shopping with Mine, and he was not happy. _How the hell is this supposed to make me a better assassin?_ Tatsumi asked himself as he continued to walk with Mine. The assassin in question apparently did not notice his troubles, and simply continued down the road, ignorant to her trainee's thoughts.

"So how is this supposed to be helping me?" Tatsumi asked dryly, and Mine huffed in annoyance. The girl in question was still trying to enjoy shopping, especially since there was going to be an important mission soon. "I don't see the point in shopping when I'm supposed to be learning, I don't know, skills an assassin would know?" Tatsumi continued, slightly annoyed.

"If you'd been paying attention, then you would have already figured it out." Mine said with a 'better than thou' tone. "A good assassin can kill without being caught, and continue to do so. A great assassin can do all that, and still go out in public and act normally. If Akame's face wasn't already known, she'd probably go out too, and be fine. You need to know how to blend in." Mine explained, and Tatsumi's eyes widened slightly in realization, but soon faltered realizing something else.

"You could have told me earlier." Tatsumi said, still annoyed. Before Mine could respond, they both saw that a crowd was forming in front of them, consisting of a great deal of people. "What's going on?" Tatsumi asked, and Mine's expression darkened as they now walked through the dense crowd.

"An execution." Mine responded, and Tatsumi's eyes widened. The execution in question was less of that and more of a display of people hung on crucifixes, and left out to die. Their bodies ragged and torn, obviously the results of some kind of torture they were put through, and simply left to rot in the streets for everyone to see. Tatsumi clenched his fists as he saw blood trickle down the crucifixes. _We need to help them!_ He thought as he began to walk forwards again, before Mine stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"What are you doing? We need to help them!" Tatsumi declared, and Mine simply sighed. Tatsumi was passionate, she would give him that, but he needed to stop thinking so irrationally. His greenness was really showing. Mine pulled him away from the crowd, and away from the public display. Once in an ally to the left of the crowd, where they can talk in private, Mine let go of him, and looked at him sternly.

"Listen, the best thing you can do for them is continue to fight against the corruption in the capital. Trying to just take them down now would A: kill them, and B: get you thrown in jail. Neither of which would benefit anyone, especially not yourself." Mine ridiculed, and Tatsumi looked down, but had an expression of frustration. "Look I know your not happy, and neither am I, but the best thing we can do is walk away. Thats another thing your here to learn, when not to act." Tatsumi nodded silently, and they stood there for a moment. "C'mon, lets go." They leave the alley, but once they both reach the entrance, Mine stops, and noticing this, Tatsumi stops as well. "Ahead, isn't that your friend?" At Mine's question Tatsumi also looks ahead, his eyes widening upon seeing the familiar form of Adrien.

The target in question was currently looking at the executed peoples, seemingly unnerved by the sight, and there was a woman next to him in an ornate robe with a strange mask on her face. Mine took a sharp right, aiming to avoid the knight. Tatsumi followed, and spared a glance at the coat of the knight, who was still looking at the tortured people. However just as he was about to turn back the knight turned around, facing Tatsumi, almost like he knew exactly where he was. Tatsumi quickened his pace.

 _So he saw me, annoying._ Adrien thought, as he kept his pace with Tatsumi and the girl. The Firekeeper followed, and he continued to think about what he had saw just moments earlier. While he wasn't new to seeing those that have been tortured, this seemed different. _What could they have possibly done to deserve such treatment?_ Treason was certainly a possibility, but they seemed awfully young to be involved heavily in any kind of politics. Although they could have been spies or enemy soldiers, which is also entirely possible. He continued to follow both Tatsumi and the girl until they quickly went into another alleyway on the right. He followed, but once he got to the mouth of the alleyway, they had disappeared. He knew better than to think they were truly gone though.

"Stay here." Adrien told the Firekeeper as he wandered down the alleyway. He wasn't sure, but he's seen traps before, and he could tell that this was one meant for him. Right as he was midway through, he heard the familiar sound of someone landing behind him. He turned around on a dime, and was ready to grab any attack Tatsumi threw, but the boy in question didn't even have his sword out. "Hello again." Adrien said, lowering his guard slightly.

"What do you want?" Tatsumi asked dangerously. The unkindled looked at him, observing that the boy did not have his weapon out, but looked ready for a fight, just by the look in his eyes.

"I want more answers, more specifically, why are you out and about? Aren't assassins supposed to operate at night?" The unkindled asked, and Tatsumi seemed to be a bit more at ease. The unkindled noticed that the girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, no one except for you really knows I'm an assassin. I'm here supposed to be training." Tatsumi responded, and the knight tilted his head.

"That girl was your teacher?" He asked genuinely, and Tatsumi nodded. The ashen one was seriously surprised by this, but didn't think about it further, instead he had another question. "Why aren't you, or that girl for that matter, attacking me? I thought I was a target for you and your 'group.'" At his inquiry, Tatsumi's face got a lot sterner. It was obvious Tatsumi was about to say something serious, that involved him.

"Because I think you can help us, and I want you to. You kept me alive, so I think you aren't completely bad."

Adrien had not expected that. In all honesty he expected the girl from earlier to suddenly drop down, and try to kill him, but not this. He looked for any sign that the boy was joking, but saw none. _Help us? With what exactly? I doubt your higher ups would approve of this._ Adrien thought, but before he could respond the girl from earlier dropped behind him. Now he was in between the two youngsters. He looked between the two, neither of them had weapons, but seemed ready to fight.

"Well? What's your answer?" The girl asked ominously, and it confused the Ashen one, as they didn't seem to be in any condition to make threats. They all stood there for a moment, the dark alley only adding to the foreboding atmosphere. The assassins needed to know where he stood in all of this here and now. If he wouldn't cooperate, he would remain a target, but having him as an ally would be extremely beneficial. Then the knight snickered.

"I am aligned with no one but myself. I have no interest in joining your little group, and I have no particular favor to the empire, although they have treated me fairly so far. Meanwhile you have labeled me as a target for apparently no reason. I just have one more question for you, why do you fight the empire?" The unkindled responded, and both teens were slightly shocked at his statement. "perhaps if something changes I'll consider joining your cause, but I doubt I'll be joining anyone's side." At his words, the knight began to walk back down the alley where he came from, and Tatsumi moved slightly to make room for Adrien to pass. As he leaves the alleyway, the woman from earlier joins him in their departure.

"So, that went about as well as I expected." Tatsumi sighed, and Mine crossed her arms. While he certainly did wish he could have convinced the knight, in reality he found it a near impossible goal.

"Of course not, however, I will say after meeting him, I'm not entirely inclined to kill him on the spot anymore. I guess you were right." She concluded, but held a firm gaze toward the new member. "I'll let Najenda know my opinion, but I doubt it'll change the reality of our mission. Too bad I didn't have pumpkin, or else I would have killed him the moment you led him here." She finished smugly. Tatsumi looked at her annoyed.

"You said you would hear me out!" Tatsumi said defensively. He had asked mine to let him talk to Adrien before she tried anything, and thankfully it resulted in the new info. Since Mine didn't have pumpkin, then Najenda probably won't be mad at them for not eliminating the target. He hoped.

"I did, and really all we know now is that he isn't loyal to anyone. He still killed our soldiers, and he will answer for that one way or another." She said firmly, indicating her seriousness. "So nothing changes. If we wind up meeting him again, he won't be walking away." Tatsumi looked down, slightly dejected before shaking his head. Why did he want the knights help so much anyway? Because he spared his life when the knight himself could have taken it? Was it just because he was powerful? He certainly didn't owe the stranger anything, but still... Tatsumi couldn't help but feel that if they didn't get him on Night Raid's side, then he would join the empire. While he had seen the power of Night Raid, the thought of the knight being on the empire's side disturbed him.

* * *

 _Another wanted poster._ Adrien thought as he observed the parchment In question. It was for a serial killer by the name of Headhunter Zank. Adrien read the description of the man and his crimes. It was strange that he was seemingly obsessed with decapitating people, but he had met phantoms that were obsessed with pointing down at any opponent they defeated. Which was a common form of disrespect, but some of them did it unnecessarily, it was all very confusing and slightly amusing to him. Especially when a dark spirit would point down before a fight, and wind up accidentally falling off a ledge. It had been about two days since the second encounter with Tatsumi, and in all his searching around the markets, he found very little that could be of use to him. So now the ashen one was simply looking for something to do besides look around. Admittedly it was a nice change of pace to Lordran, but he had grown tired of the 'exploring' rather quickly. He hadn't even found an abandoned weapon on the ground anywhere.

 _A good manhunt should spice things up._ Unfortunately things were about to spice up for the unkindled sooner than he thought. He heard the sound of footsteps directly behind him, and when he turned around he saw the familiar form of Seryu Ubiquitous.

"Mr Adrien! Are you looking for bounties?" She asked in her usual cheery voice. The Ashen one prepared himself for a tirade of questions, while he didn't mind her presence, he had seen how she was the last time he saw her. "There are plenty of bounties! Its kinda sad how many people try to harm the empire, but its inevitable I guess. You can take on any of these bounties, I'm sure of it! Well...Except for a few." Seryu's tone became darker, and the ashen one could tell that something was wrong as her gaze turned to three particular wanted posters. Specifically the ones advertising the bounties for Night Raid. "They killed him Mr Adrien. Night Raid killed Ogre." Seryu's hands clenched into fists in anger. _She knew him, I suppose thats not too much of a surprise, but they must have been close as well._ Adrien wasn't sure how to approach this situation, but instead continued to look at the bounties.

"I was thinking about hunting Zank, he's very dangerous, and I would like to see what kind of a challenge he might put up." Adrien said to break the ice, and Seryu nodded, as Adrien looked at her, she had a determined look on her face. A small 'ruff' was heard, and Adrien looked down to see Seryu's...Dog? Her pet had the same kind of expression that Seryu had, which made Adrien think they might have some kind of mental link. How this was possible he did not know.

"I'm going to make Night raid pay. They're going to pay for what they did." Ogre was her mentor, and like a father figure. There was no way she could let Night raid go, and Koro will really help her with that. Suddenly Seryu got an Idea, but she was unsure if Adrien would go along with it. "Hey Mr Adrien." Seryu began silently, and the undead turned toward her. "Would you help me? Help me destroy Night Raid?" She asked almost dangerously. She turned toward him, and he could see the desire for revenge on her face. "With you helping me, we could take out Night Raid together. Nothing could stop us!" She looked eager, but the undead simply continued to stare at her, seeing the sadistic desire within her eyes of excitement and hopefulness.

"We'll see, I've told you already, I have no allegiance to anyone, I'd rather not paint a target on myself." While he technically already had a target on him, he didn't need to give Seryu more reasons to push him to help her. Seryu's expression turned to one of sadness, and the unkindled's undead heart seemed to ache at her expression. Seryu's dog seemed to copy her expression, and while Adrien felt a little guilty in denying her request, he had to stand his ground.

"Oh, Alright, I guess I understand. Just be careful when you confront Zank, he used to be apart of the empire. I heard he is a formidable opponent." The ashen one nodded wordlessly, and Seryu nodded as well, now with an accepting, if not still saddened, expression. Seryu turned around to leave, she looked back to see the ashen one turning around as well. She stopped, wondering what else he wanted.

"Be careful hunting Night Raid, if they're half the group I hear about, it will be difficult to defeat them." Seryu's eyes widened slightly, and she smiled at Adrien's words. While she would have preferred to have his direct support, technically being a normal citizen, or mercenary, she couldn't expect his full support. However his words were enough give her hope that he might be by her side fighting for justice. She then continued on her way, with thoughts of Adrien and her finally taking revenge upon Night Raid.

* * *

"Oh man, you are sooo dead." Leone said a little too enthusiastically. Mine and Tatsumi had returned to the hideout, and had just informed Leone of what had transpired earlier within the capital. Being that this was the second time Tatsumi had encountered their secondary target, and had failed to eliminate him twice, Leone figured Najenda would not be too happy. "Better come up with a good excuse while you can." Tatsumi gulped at her words, and Leone couldn't help but snicker at the effect she could have on their newest member. Mine remained with her arms crossed as she, Tatsumi, and Leone sat in the kitchen area.

"Y-Your right, I-I have to find a way to explain it! I-I mean we couldn't have stood a chance right? Mine didn't have her weapon, and I don't have the right skill. So theres no way we could have won if we attacked right?" Tatsumi asked desperately.

"The way I remember it, you told me to back off while you talked to him, and you let him get away, maybe the two of us could have taken him, even without Pumpkin." Mine huffed in response, and Tatsumi sunk even more.

"Whats this about Tatsumi not attacking?" Najenda's voice suddenly got the trio's attention as their leader stood in the doorways to the room. Lubbock was right behind her as well, smirking cockily.

"Hey boss! Just in time! Mine and Tatsumi met the knight again, but they didn't take him out." Leone seemed to boast as she told Najenda about the recent mess up. "So what's their punishment?" The sadistic glee was obvious.

"Now why would I do that? Mine didn't have her weapon, and Tatsumi's still a beginner. Considering this Adrien's skill, I believe that attempting to engage him in combat would have been foolish. So what kind of information did you get from him?" Najenda's words shocked everyone in the room, with the exception of Lubbock and Mine, who seemed to not react to her words. Tatsumi racked his brain, attempting to rationalize why he wasn't currently being punched with Najenda's metal arm. He regained his senses, and was now acutely aware he had been asked a question.

"W-Well basically I tried to recruit him, and he told us that he wasn't aligned with anyone. He didn't know why we had him targeted, so I doubt he knows too much about us. Although I think thats good, he mentioned that the empire has treated him fairly. This means that if we could recruit him, then we're losing his favor." Tatsumi stopped, realizing all eyes were on him. Especially Najenda's. Tatsumi now had a nervous expression, and hoped he hadn't said anything wrong.

"So, even after I talked to you, and that he's killed many revolutionaries, your still trying to recruit him?" Najenda somewhat accused, and Tatsumi gulped. "Well, I admire your tenacity, and I hope your right about his neutrality. I'll make you a deal then, He'll stay a secondary target, but if we can recruit him in a non-combat situation we'll try. Just don't expect the rest of us to try as hard as you." Tatsumi sighed in relief after hearing her words.

"Huh, didn't expect that." Leone commented. "Man, going through all this trouble just to recruit this guy, its almost like your crushing on him. You know Bulats gay right, why not just take him out or something?" Leone teased while patting Tatsumi's head like a child.

"What!? NO!" Tatsumi smartly defended, and Najenda couldn't help but smile as Leone continued to tease him. He was really starting to fit in, and most of the other members seemed to have accepted him. From the start the kid can really think for himself, reluctant to join them even when threatened with death, and his attempt to recruit the knight was more proof of his independence.

As far as the knight goes, Najenda couldn't help but stay interested in the character. If this Adrien was truly neutral, then perhaps she could actually amuse Tatsumi's want to recruit the knight.

* * *

Adrien's exploration had proven fruitful over the past few days. Simply by sitting at various locations and listening, he learned a lot about the current state of affairs. The Emperor was a child, and the current head of the imperial guard was a general by the name of Budo. There was also a prime minister by the name of honest who was apparently running the country in actuality since the emperor was just a child. It was unsurprising, but perhaps it wasn't the emperor's fault for the corruption, but instead it was the fault of the prime minister. However that was most of what he was able to find out, the rest of the conversations he had picked up were all about Zank. His latest victims, his skill, his history, all about him. Which was to be expected, he had killed almost twenty people now, all gruesomely decapitated. Something was still gnawing at the unkindled though, something that made him very curious. _Why hasn't he tried to attack me yet?_ The unkindled thought as he observed guards patrolling.

Adrien had not just been exploring during the day, but also during the night. He was hoping that Zank would try to hunt him, but for some reason he had seen no hide nor tale of the headhunter. Adrien was starting to think that this headhunter was avoiding him, and he wondered why. _Does he know of me? If that's true, then it is very concerning._ He looked around the street, seeing the people going about their days. Adrien decided that the best course of action would be to search for Zank again, this time he would search for potential areas where he might strike such as alleys or confined spaces.

So he left his previous place by the restaurant, and started searching. The Firekeeper was at the inn, and the unkindled had left her there to ensure her safety. He stepped down a relatively wide alleyway, and searched for potential avenues for the serial killer to attack. Perhaps it was pointless to search for the man during the day, but the unkindled was more or less searching for something to...

"HELP!" A woman's yell caught the unkindled's attention, and he approached where he heard it. In an intersection of alleyways there was a young woman collapsed on the ground, with three rough looking men looking down on her, one of them had a knife. There were groceries on the ground, telling Adrien she had been shopping before being stopped by these three.

"Its no use lady, unless theres someone else in the alley, or right outside of the alley, no ones going to help you. Best just let it happen sweet stuff." The one with the knife said condescendingly, and the other two grabbed her arms and legs.

"N-No, I have a fiance!" She begged, and the man laughed.

"Well then, too bad for him then." He said menacingly. Before anything else could happen, two more people made themselves known.

"Hey you! Stop!" Another voice said, it belonged to a man in a guards uniform next to another guard. Both of them were equipped with swords. The three men looked shocked, before the man with the knife scowled.

"Uggg, lets go." He said, almost in a tired voice. Like this wasn't the first time this had happened. The three men left hastily while the two guards walked up to the woman. They sheathed their swords, and the woman had a look of eternal gratitude on her face.

"Don't worry mam, those fools won't be able to harm you now." The same guard from before said, and the woman began to pick up the groceries around her. The unkindled was about to move on before he heard the woman's 'eep' of surprise. The so far silent guard had pushed her to a laid down position, and was holding her down forcefully. "But I never said we wouldn't be." the woman attempted to scream agin, but the guard atop her produced a gag from his pocked and put it around her mouth. Her muffled screams and the sound of the guard attempting to undress her were the only sounds that echoed throughout the alley.

That was, before the sound of a sword piecing flesh, and a breathless gasp was heard. Both the guard on top of the woman and the woman herself were shocked at the new development. The other guard now had a straight sword sticking out of his chest, the wielder still hidden behind the guard. The second guard attempted to draw his own sword, but the cloaked figure rushed from behind the now bleeding guard, and slammed the second guard with his shield. The figure took the same straight sword, and impaled the guard with the weapon, in the same way he had the other. The bodies of both guards were now on the floor, some of the blood having gotten on some paper grocery bags. The woman looked up at the figure in fear, his dull green cloak, and finely made armor gave him an ominous appearance. He sheathed his sword, and from a wooden box on his side took out a short curved dagger. _No No! Not again, one after another!_ The woman thought as the figure brought the dagger to her face, and raised it near her cheek. She closed her eyes in fear, and felt the air rush as the dagger sliced something. The gag fell down onto her lap, ans she opened her eyes in surprise. Her armored savior put the dagger back int the wooden box, and began to walk away.

"Wait!" She cried, and the figure stopped as he looked at her. "Thank you." She said simply. The knight stopped for a moment before he nodded curtly and continued down the alley. The woman clutched the remaining groceries tightly as she rushed out of the alley in the other direction.

Adrien's exploration had done little to help him find the headhunter. Aside from the two groups of rapists from assaulting that woman, nothing much had happened in the span of a few hours. The sun had set, and now the moon was out, it was an eery blood color, and he wondered why it was so tonight. _Perhaps a premonition of something to come?_ Adrien thought as he walked down along a stone path not far from a part of the city. Then he heard quick shuffling, more specifically the familiar sound of the dance when people fight. He approached the noise, and found a peculiar sight.

Zank was there, facing the familiar form of Tatsumi, who had his sword raised threateningly. They were in the middle of a stone courtyard, and Adrien could tell that Tatsumi had been injured. Zank had what appeared to be some kind of long trench coat, and had a strange looking green eye on his head, along with something that covered his ears. He had blades that seemed to emerge from the selves of his coat. Tatsumi began to strike at Zank, but each time he missed, and Zank appeared to be mocking him. The unkindled couldn't tell from so far away, and thats when Zank struck back. Tatsumi stood with his sword in a blocking position, but Zank continued to slice a Tatsumi with his blades, cutting his arms and legs up.

"A magnificent wound I've inflicted upon you don't you think?" Zank mocked, and Tatsumi said nothing in response, instead he glared at Zank with a deadly gaze. "So do you think you can still last long enough for your companion to get here?" At Zank's mock Tatsumi readied his sword again. _I'm going to put all I have into this one!_ Tatsumi though as he prepared to attack at full force, but before he could a cloaked blur slammed into the side of Zank, and the sound of flesh being sliced could be heard. Zank quickly backed away from the blur, with a new slice in his left arm. Tatsumi's eyes widened upon seeing the figure was Adrien. "Its you..." Zank growled. "I saw that you've been looking for me the past couple of days, and I could tell it would have been foolish to try to take you on without more information, but it appears I have no choice. No matter!" Zank boasted. "You surprised me, I'll give you that, but you won't be able to do that agin."

 _Quite arrogant, I wonder why he thinks of himself so highly?_ Adrien thought, and Zanku smiled evilly. "Arrogant? Maybe, but I prefer the term confident." Zanku said, and Adrien's eyes widened underneath his helmet. _He can read my thoughts. Thats new._ "Huh? Not too surprised, oh well, It matters none. Why don't you take that helmet off so I can see what kind of expression you'll have when I decapitate you!" Zank rushed forward, and attempted to strike the unkindled's neck, but said undead raised his shield to block. He readied his Lothric knight sword, and prepared to give the serial killer another slash. "Not this time!" Zanku said as he rounded Adrien's right, around his shield, and delivered a strike to the unkindled's arm. Some sparks flew as the blade connected with armor. Zank was surprised it had such little effect, and even more so when Adrien swung at him with inhuman speed, catching the headhunter's right arm.

Tatsumi hadn't even been able to land a proper hit, but already the knight had caught the killer twice. Zank looked shell shocked, and the unkindled pressed his assault. His speed was impressive, but Zank kept enough distance to properly predict and dodge the knight's assault. The only reason he had been caught before was because he was too close to react, but since he had to keep distance, Zank was incapable of fighting back. The unkindled used roll attacks and running attacks to try to catch Zanku off guard, but the headhunter seemed to be just out of reach. Tatsumi continued to watch in amazement as Adrien continued to fight. He heard rusting behind him, and when he turned around, Akame was there, observing the fight with an expressionless look.

"Akame! I found Zank, and then Adrien came to help." Tatsumi said with less shock than before. "We need to help." Akame didn't move, instead she continued to observe both the imperial arms user, and the skilled knight. She had figured the knight would be skilled, but to keep up with Zank, and apparently bypass whatever imperial arms he had made him more dangerous in her eyes. Perhaps _his Imperial arms allows him to do that?_ Akame thought to herself, wondering the source of the man's skill.

"No, we let them fight it out, and whoever wins we eliminate." Akame said calmly, and Tatsumi's eyes widened, as he didn't want her to try to attack the knight. Akame produced a few cloths from her belt, and approached Tatsumi to begin patching him up. Before he could protest, he heard Zank growl in frustration.

"How are you so fast!? Is it your imperial arms?" Zank questioned, while normally he could tell from the person's thoughts what weapon they were using, he only could tell that his armor and weapons was just normal equipment, meaning that whatever was allowing him this skill was under his armor, or hidden elsewhere. However his X-ray only told him there was little in the way of anything under his armor, aside from a few odd non-combat items. The knight stopped, allowing Zank a moment of respite, in response the headhunter stopped, wondering what his opponent had planned.

"What is an imperial arms?" Adrien asked aloud, and seemed to stun both Zank and Akame. Akame's eyes widened just slightly, while Zank looked as if he had just been told he was adopted. Several moments passed, and seeing how his question wasn't being answered, he prepared to charge again, raising his shield and sword.

"Wait!" Zank pleaded, and the unkindled froze, waiting for a response, and knowing not to keep the undead waiting, he began. "Imperial arms are magical artifacts that give their users certain unique abilities, or have a certain ability themselves. Only those that are compatible with a specific imperial arms can use said imperial arms." After Zank's explanation, the unkindled pondered that for a moment. Knowing what he was thinking, Zank responded to the unasked question. "Yes, my imperial arms allows me to read other's thoughts, which is only one of the five abilities it has." There was a pregnant pause as they stood there.

"Thank you for the information, if you give me your imperial arms, and hand yourself over, I'll let you live." The unkindled offered. While he normally wouldn't give his enemies the option, Zank had given him valuable information, and figured he could at least somewhat repay him. Tatsumi felt nervous at the offer, wondering if the knight would really let the serial killer go, while Akame simply continued to watch. Zank only laughed in response.

"I didn't give you that information out of the kindness of my heart, its because I know you'd find out anyway, and I figured you'd want something to remember me by when one of us dies!" Zanku then rushed the unkindled, but the undead let his guard down, allowing Zank to keep coming. Seeing the trap Adrien laid, and surprised what exactly it entailed, he stopped just short of hitting the knight. Then Adrien struck, his sword ripped through the neck of the headhunter, blood pouring form the wound. _I guess he hadn't expected a non thought out attack. I had expected him to actually take the bait, letting my armor block the strike, and kill him when he was so close, but instead he attempted to escape by keeping a distance, but he underestimated my reaction speed, and the injuries on his arms._ Adrien thought, watching the head of Zanku roll on the floor in an ironic twist of fate. Souls entered his body, a considerable amount in fact, but then he saw a large soul mass enter him, and a title echoed throughout his mind. **Soul of the Executioner.**

Akame tensed, the fight should have lasted longer against an imperial arms user and experienced fighter like Zanku. This knight would not be easy to defeat. She finished fixing the majority of Tatsumi's wounds, and she then raised her sword, staring at the unkindled, wondering the best approach of assault.

"Wait! Akame, he saved me, and I'm trying to convince him to join us." Tatsumi pleaded, and Akame paused, while the unkindled realized the two were there. They all stood there for a moment, before Adrien picked up the eye still attached to the severed head of Zanku, and examined it. He proceeded to pick up the head itself, as to get it ready to send to the guard office. He was about to stick the imperial arms in his bottomless box, before the sound of footsteps stopped that Idea as he looked toward the one called Akame. She was approaching fast, and had a killer look in her eyes. Tatsumi yelled after her, but his injuries prevented him from intervening. Adrien just stood there, watching the wanted assassin he had seen in the posters rapidly approach him. Then he threw the eye at her.

Akame had not expected the knight to throw the imperial arms at her, but she managed to catch it, and stopped in her tracks. She was within safe distance, and the knight continued to stand there for a moment. Then he began to walk away with the head. She did not stop him, but instead started at his back intensely, attempting to read his intentions, but could find no reasoning to it, unless he simply didn't want to fight her. Tatsumi walked up beside her, and looked on in moderate surprise at what the knight had done. Akame nodded to Tatsumi, signaling it was time for them to go.

The unkindled would have liked to keep that weapon, but even more so he didn't want to risk what could happen in that fight. At least not until he found an actual bonfire, or knew of a way to come back from death like usual. That Akame girl looked different from most other human enemies he had fought, the cold blooded conviction drawn on her face told the unkindled she would not be an easy enemy to defeat. It also seemed as though they were far more interested in that 'Imperial Arms' than he was anyways. He had just left the premises of the courtyard, and looking behind him, saw neither Akame or Tatsumi, instead the only remnants of any of them being there was the blood on the ground and the body of Zanku. _At least they're smart enough not to follow me._ Adrien thought to himself as he continued toward the inn he and the Firekeeper were staying at. _Now, lets see if that transposing kiln still works._

* * *

 **Authors notes.**

 **Another chapter done! I honestly hoped that it would be longer, but I put in what I wanted to, so there really wasn't much else to add. Hope you enjoyed, and I know I kinda teased the fight between Akame and Adrien, but don't worry, the next fight scene will be a lot more intense. Not much else to say, except for that I really appreciate all the feedback on this story! Ive gotten so many follows and such its almost unbelievable. Anyways I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4-Soul of the Infamous

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the Infamous**

Adrien walked down the streets of the capital with purpose, not bothered by the mortified stares of the occasional onlooker. They were not horrified by him, but rather by the bloody sack he had in his left hand. It dangled like a man's family jewels, and was as bloody as a butcher's clever. The late morning light shined down on this odd spectacle, and while normally guards would have approached him, Adrien's appearance, stature, and his disregard for what everyone else thought about the bag in his hand seemed to say: 'Don't get in my way.'

Adrien arrived at the guard station, scrutinizing it's appearance briefly, before heading inside. The inside was basic, consisting of chairs in the waiting room, and a few tables. A door was on the side of the room, and seemed to lead to the barracks, if the sign saying: 'Barracks' was any indication. There was a counter in front where a man wearing a guard uniform looked at him briefly, his uncaring gaze quickly shifting to slight alarm at the sight before him. Aside from some other guards behind the counter, one of which was Seryu, no one else was in the building.

"Is there something I can help you with?" The guard at the counter asked with trepidation, and Adrien walked up to the counter, put the bag in front of the guard, and huffed.

"I'd like to collect my reward." He said indifferently. Seryu's head popped up from the table she had been sitting at, recognizing the voice, with Koro following suit. She quickly approached the counter with an innocent smile on her face, quickly turning to glee upon seeing the bag.

"O-Of course, uh, I'm guessing this is who you killed?" The guard asked, noticing Seryu's admiring stare at the knight. Adrien nodded.

"It's Zank." Adrien simply said, wanting to leave with his reward, and return to the inn for some important business. At his words, all the guard's heads poked up, and looked at him in awe, surprise, etc. The guard in front of him looked baffled, before he carefully undid the bag's knot. His jaw visibly dropped when he saw the head.

"I knew you could do it Mr. Adrien!" Seryu exclaimed happily.

"You know him!?" The guard asked Seryu incredulously, to which the girl nodded happily. "Well, um, I'll go get you the bounty." The guard said before walking off with the Zank's head. Seryu put her elbows on the counter, her hands on her chin, and looked at Adrien with displayed admiration. Adrien looked at her with slight interest.

"How did you do it?" She suddenly asked, and Koro managed to climb his way up to sit on the counter, also facing Adrien. Seryu wanted to glean anything she could from him, as defeating someone with an imperial arms without your own is a near impossible task. "I really want to know! Please!" She begged.

Adrien studied her for a moment, before deciding that telling her wouldn't do much harm. _In fact, even some simple advice could save her life one day_. Adrien Thought. "Alright." He said, and Seryu didn't bother to hide her elation. From the corner of his eye, he could tell some of the other guards were listening in, perhaps trying to glean some knowledge as well. "First off I should explain what I learned about Zank, his Imperial arms allows him to read the minds of his opponents, and even predict their next move. Stupidly he bothered to tell me this, and so I took advantage of his cockiness. He thought he could predict me, and in all honesty he could. Had I faced him in my earlier days I would have not bothered to face him, but I knew I could win against him." _Mostly because he's mortal, and I'm not, but thats besides the point._ Adrien thought to himself, before continuing. "So I engaged him fully, and while he could predict my moves, he often wasn't fast enough to dodge, or strong enough to successfully block. In the end I won, not necessarily because I outsmarted him, but because I was just that much stronger than him. You would do best to remember that, in some instances, you can defeat a stronger opponent by outsmarting them, but if they are simply too strong, it would be best to run, and fight another day." Once Adrien had finished, everyone that had overheard his speech looked at him with surprise. The guard from earlier returned with a medium sack of coins. He set the sack on the counter, and Adrien took it, putting the reward on his person.

"Wow, thats amazing!" Seryu chimed, and Adrien nodded in thanks briefly, before he turned to leave. By the time he was at the door, Seryu was behind him, intending to follow him. Adrien walked out into the street, letting Seryu tag along. He walked down the street, taking note of the ever familiar market and environment. It was becoming a slight comfort to Adrien that the streets of the capital largely didn't change, and he could see himself perhaps staying here. However, it would be dangerous for him to become content, or lose his purpose, lest he hollow quicker. Humanity, purging stones, and the embers seemed to reverse hollowing, but now two of these things were in limited supply. Humanity however was technically everywhere, since all of the inhabitants of this land were mortal. Adrien often had no use for humanity, or the Dark hand for that matter, but now he was glad he had it. At the very least it would be very useful against the inhabitants.

"Why is it that you are following me?" Adrien asked, keeping his pace steady. Seryu hummed in thought, before smiling cheerfully.

"Because your someone worth following I guess." Adrien stopped in his tracks, and observed her for a moment. "Did I say something?" Seryu asked tentatively. The unkindled nodded, before continuing on. _Worth following? You don't know what your saying child._ He thought. "Maybe its just because you were able to deliver justice to that no good Zank, so I want to learn as much as I can from you!" She said excitedly, as if they were going out on some kind of innocent adventure.

"You speak of justice a lot, what is Justice to you?" Adrien asked, as he moved to the side to avoid a small group of people blocking a portion of the road. Seryu did not respond at first, slightly befuddled, but quickly regained herself.

"Justice is delivering to evil people what they deserve! Of equal pay of justice for the crime of course. If someone steals something, they get sent to jail, but if they kill an innocent..." Seryu stopped herself, seeming to grow upset. "There is no punishment great enough. Just like with Night raid, they killed Ogre. He was like a father to me, I admired him, like I admire you kinda. It was for different reasons though." Adrien considered this for a moment, remembering when he had lost those he cared for.

"I see, you have my sympathies." Adrien said quietly, and Seryu looked at the taller man for a moment, before smiling somberly.

"Its ok, I'll take my revenge, and seek justice for him." Adrien nodded at her words, understanding her goal, and somewhat sympathizing. He often felt a sense of vengeance against certain enemies that were difficult for him. The Dancer, and the nameless king came to his mind.

"Then I guess you should know I encountered Night raid when I confronted Zank." Seryu stopped, shock evident on her face. "I believe the one I saw was the one named Akame."

"Y-You encountered Night Raid!? W-What happened, did you fight them!?" Adrien shook his head, and Seryu was disappointed. "So what happened then?" Seryu needed to know, perhaps if she knew how to handle a fight or encounter against them, she could hold her own better when she faced them.

"After I had disposed of Zank, The one named Akame charged me when I had Zank's imperial arms. Since I had yet to know a lot about her, I decided to give her the arms in exchange for me being able to leave." Seryu was visibly shocked at his words. She rushed in front of him with an accusatory stare.

"You let them go! With an imperial arms no less!? Why!?" Adrien stopped, thinking how best to respond. He did not wish to anger the only real 'friend' he had, if he could call her that.

"Because I was not sure I could win, I heard she was nicknamed the one-shot-killer. Why should I risk such a fight?" While he doubted the term one-shot-killer would apply to him, since everyone here was mortal, but he didn't want to take that kind of chance. His defense caused Seryu some pause, and she thought about it, before sighing.

"Alright, I guess you aren't really obligated to fight them if you don't want to." Seryu said downtrodden, before both of them continued down the road. "So were there any other members of Night raid there?" Adrien was about to respond, but in that instance the Gods had decided to place Tatsumi right there in their path, looking around for something, or someone. Seryu sensed his plight, and was quick to help. "Hello there sir, My name is Seryu Ubiquitous, is there anything I can help you find today?" Tatsumi looked as though he was stunned, which was unsurprising considering he had run into Adrien once again.

Tatsumi had no Idea how he kept getting in these situations, first he was patrolling with Leone, then he got separated from her, then got lost, and was now being asked by a guard if she could help, all the while Adrien was behind her, looking at him from behind the visor of his helmet. The young assassin was starting to regret his life decisions. "U-Uh, no, I was just, uh, looking for a friend I got separated from thats all. Hehe" he said nervously. The knight that loomed behind Seryu remained silent, while the girl in question looked confused for a moment, before smiling again.

"Ok then fair citizen, I wish you luck in your quest!" Seryu said with a salute, and both her and Adrien continued onward. Tatsumi though, overheard their conversation afterward. "So what were you going to say? Was there another member of night raid there besides Akame?" Tatsumi immediately tensed, his palms started to sweat as he looked at the back of their heads in horror fo what the knight might say next. Adrien briefly looked over his shoulder at Tatsumi, and the boy though his anonymousness would be over.

"No, it was just her." Adrien said, before they both walked out of ear shot. Tatsumi looked in their direction with some wonder, and thought about what Adrien had just done for him. He could have ratted him out, or just pointed at him, but instead decided to remain silent on it. Tatsumi became more curious about what the knight's motivations might be. He seemed to be keeping close to the empire, but refused to rat him out. Just what was that man's game?

"Mr Adrien?" Seryu asked, and Adrien looked over at her. "If I fought Night Raid, and you were nearby, would you help me?" While it might be overstepping her bounds a bit, she considered Adrien a friend, and needed to know if he would help her if she needed it. _I'm sure he'll say yes, he's too nice._ She thought. A moment passed as Adrien thought about it. Then another, and Seryu was starting to worry as they walked.

"I would." Adrien responded. While his declaration to defend her might pull him into a position where he would technically fight for the empire, he has no real allegiance to anyone, and Seryu was a nice girl, and really the only person he trusted here, besides the Firekeeper. Seryu smiled brightly with a slight pink hue to her cheeks.

"I knew you'd say that!" She said cheerily, and her dog Koro barked in similar style.

* * *

"Ashen one? Is there something the matter?" The Firekeeper asked, and the Ashen one shook his head. While she couldn't see it, she could heard the slight clanking of his armor when his head moved. They were currently in the lobby of the inn they had been staying in, sitting at a table as the Ashen one stared at the transposing kiln in his hands. It was warm, and the should he had within him was meant to be turned into one of two items. The only problem was that the unkindled did not feel like he should be able to convert this soul, as the fight was rather easy in comparison to others he's had. Perhaps he should just be thankful.

One of the items that could be transposed was a pair of gauntlet blades that could inflict critical damage with it's weapon art. However the soul could also be transposed into a ring that could predict opponent's moves, but reduced defense. He was pretty sure which item he would decide upon, but considered that the ring was significantly weaker than the actual imperial arms it was based on, perhaps it had something to do with the strength of the soul. For now, he would do something else he wanted to do. The Unkindled got up from the table, and walked back up to their room, and the Firekeeper followed. Once there, and with the door locked and secured, he kneeled to the firekeeper, held out his hand, and offered souls to the Firekeeper. The Firekeeper began to pray, and Adrien felt his body be filled with Vigor and his head filled with Intelligence.

Once he was done, he got back up, and the Firekeeper looked at him with a small smile. He sat on the bed, and looked at the small stack of books on his bedside table. Those books contained the history of the empire, up to a point, while the others discussed the history of the imperial arms, although they did not go into specific arms, as It was doubtful they could actually do that. However the book that was on the top was the one he was most interested in, it was a book of the current major leaders and officials in the empire. The book was a simple paper back, but it was perhaps the most useful book in this stack.

The title of the book read: **The current rulers and officials within the Empire: 52** **nd** **edition.** The first page gave credit to the Author, while the second had a family tree-esk picture of the ruling structure. At the top was the emperor, who was indeed, a child. To the side of the emperor, was the prime minister, Honest. He appeared to be a fat, smug, and most likely very unsavory man. Just by looking at his portrait, Adrien found himself somewhat displeased with him. Below the two were many heads of provinces, as well as nobles and advisors. All of these Men were of little concern to him, who was however, were the top Military personnel. The only two that were immediately listed were generals Budo and Esdeath. He skipped to their respective pages, the first being Budo's and began investigating.

"Ashen one?" The Firekeeper's voice stirred him from reading, and he looked to her. "If it is not a bother, might I trouble thee to read to me? I had so enjoyed the last time you did so." The last time he had read to her was with one of the other books, when it had mentioned servants for life, or at the very least ones that owed a life debt. Apparently it was quite rare here in the empire, but not unheard of. The Ashen one moved from sitting on his bed to the Firekeeper's side. Then he began to read, all the while the Firekeeper had a small, but noticeable smile on her face.

* * *

"Your Majesty, your morning paper." A Maid said respectfully while placing a local newspaper on the table not far from where the Emperor was sitting. Across from him was Honest, who was gouging down on some bacon with his mouth, while his eyes gouged into the delicate form of the maid.

"Ah! Thank you, you are dismissed." The Emperor said, grabbing the paper as he took a bite of his breakfast roll. The maid bowed, and soon left the private dining area of the Emperor. The green haired boy read the front page, and was immediately shocked, but continued to read. Honest noticed the expression on the young Emperor's face and looked at the paper inquisitively.

"Something of interest in the paper your Majesty?" The Prime Minister asked curiously, and the boy nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Zank has been defeated!" The Minister's eye's widened at that, while he listened to the emperor. "It says here that a knight managed to track him down and kill him. However the imperial arms Zank possessed was not reclaimed. This comes from several guards in the station where he collected the bounty. It would appear that one particular guard is close with the knight, but it is also stated that he is responsible for helping the community in a few other ways. At least thats what the paper says." The Minister rubbed his chin, this was unexpected to him, but perhaps this new person could be useful. Zank had proven an annoyance, and while not a direct threat, he could have caused major disturbances in the populace, and he regularly killed loyal guards. It was good he was gone before the people got too uppity. Although he should learn more about this knight before doing anything about him. "I wonder who this knight is, perhaps we should invite him, and congratulate him upon his victory." At the emperor's words, the Minister sighed.

"I do not believe that is wise your Majesty, perhaps he has slain Zank, but we do not know his true goals or intentions, he could very well admonish you. Besides, he has already been rewarded with the bounty. I believe we should just leave him alone. It would be the smartest ting to do." The emperor nodded, seeming to reflect on the older man's words.

"I see, your right, it would be best to be cautious. Although I feel like this man must be quite skilled to take down Zank without an imperial arms." The emperor commented, and the Minister nodded.

"Yes, it would be good to at least keep an eye on him, even if he is just a mercenary." The minister took another bite of his meal, and the emperor pondered other things as he read other stories. "Oh, right, I should let you know your majesty, Esdeath has sent a letter of confirmation, she will be arriving in about a week or so." Honest said, remembering one of the things he wished to talk to the emperor about.

"Excellent, the sooner she gets here, the sooner Night raid is disposed of. Does general Budo have any news?"

"Not on Night raid, but he has noted that crime in the western quadrant has seen a decent drop as of late."

"Really!? Because that's where the article says the knight was. At least that's the guard station he handed in the head at." The minister's eyebrows raised.

"Hmm, well, perhaps this knight has been doing more than just hunting down serial killers." The minister humored jokingly, but the emperor took it as no joke as his smile grew more.

"It sounds like a storybook, a noble knight fighting off those that seek to harm the innocent." The child's eyes sparkled slightly, and the Minister was a little annoyed at his antics.

"Your Majesty, I don't see this character as nothing more than a mercenary, we don't even know if he really is the one responsible for the crime reductions. Why do you seem intrigued by him, surly Budo, Esdeath, or even her loyal bodyguards would be far more interesting to you." The emperor looked at his lead advisor for a moment, before smiling excitedly.

"Maybe so, and while I do admire all of them, the romanticism of a knight doing selfless acts on his own, without anyone forcing him to do so, is much more intriguing. I believe that people like that should be celebrated and revered fro their actions." The Minister considered the emperor for a moment, before offering a fake smile.

"Why yes, when you put it like that, it is quite interesting." He lied. _I'll never understand the interests of this child, no matter, if this is what he thinks, it is no consequence to me._ The Minister thought, and once again began diving into his meal.

* * *

"Well that's certainly interesting, so you met him again?" Najenda questioned, to which Tatsumi nodded. He took another bite of the dinner in front of him before continuing.

"Yea, and he was with a guard name Seryu, and seeing how they kept talking after I left, they must know each other, or are close. He had the perfect opportunity to expose me, Seryu asked about when he fought Zank, and wether or not if any members of Night raid were there." Najenda's eyebrow raised upon hearing his words. "He told her that Akame was there, but he said she was the only one, keeping me covered." Najenda put a hand to her chin, and Bulat, who was leaning against the wall of the dining room, hummed in contemplation. Tatsumi sipped on his drink while Akame munched on a large drumstick next to him.

"Interesting, its like hes playing for both sides, staying close to the empire, but not exposing us when given the chance." Bulat commented. "Perhaps he's still trying to play neutral?" Mine scoffed from another place at the table. Sheele and Leone were on either side of her, also eating.

"If he's trying to play neutral, he should either stay away from us and the empire, or just leave the capital. He's just trying to get the best situation out of both of us. When he should know its impossible." Mine criticized.

"I wonder what he's doing now?" Sheele asked curiously.

"Probably having fun with that 'servant' of his." Mine's comment elicited a snicker from Leone. Najenda took a puff from her Cigar, and considered Tatsumi's words again, as well as the other's comments.

"I believe its still to early to say who he's fighting for. He's sending out mixed signals to us, and probably to the empire as well. He'll have to make up his mind sooner or later, and we need to be prepared to deal with him in case he joins the empire. Considering his speed and strength, it would be best that we deal with him from a distance, or at least have a two on one situation, with us being in the better situation." Mine nodded with a determined expression, knowing she had probably been referring to Pumpkin.

Tatsumi nodded, seeing the knight in action, made him very nervous to ever have to face him in combat. Akame seemed unfazed, and Tatsumi was a little impressed that she wasn't intimidated at all by the knight.

"Theres no need to worry boss, whoever takes him one, we'll win no doubt, if he hadn't pulled that little stunt with Akame, then we wouldn't even be talking about him." Leone added, and Najenda nodded, before speaking again.

"If we can say anything for certain, its that this Adrien is playing his cards carefully, and keeping them close to his chest. He's not stupid. If we have to take him out, we should be prepared, but lets hope it doesn't come to that." At Najenda's words, while no one responded, there was an air that said the rest of Night raid seemed to share the sentiment.

* * *

"Firearms." Adrien repeated the word he had read as if he was pondering the unseen meaning of the word. The book had gone into a bit a detail about the weapons, and Adrien now knew the basics of how they worked. He wondered if he could teach himself how to use one, but that was an issue for later. The damage potential of such devices was great, but their abilities seemed somewhat similar to the angels of the ringed city, able to shoot mass amounts of deadly projectiles in seconds. Their limit to physical ammunition made them vulnerable if you caught a firearms user without any bullets. If he ever had to deal with such a weapon, it would be best to let them exhaust their ammo, and then strike quickly. Such a strategy would not be as doable if he used his main weapon.

The unkindled reached into his bottomless box, and brought out his Zweihander, his old friend. The fully reinforced, and heavy infused weapon had seen him through many fights, but it had it's drawbacks. Thats why he had the fully reinforced Irrithyl straight sword to complement it. His large amount of strength and vigor made the large weapon easy to use, and very deadly, especially when buffed. Of course, if he ever tried to use this against a firearms user, it might not be as effective as a quick striking weapon like any straight sword. He would use it again, but not yet, not until he really needed to.

"Are we done for today?" The Firekeeper asked from next to him, and he looked down at his Zweihander again briefly, before tucking it back inside of his box.

"For today." The Firekeeper nodded at his words, and he got up from the bed, and left the room. He needed to think. As he made his way out of the inn, the night air greeted him. His armored footsteps clanged against the street's cobblestone path. Several topics came to his mind, and he still wondered if he could find a reliable way to keep the dark from ravaging the land. The unkindled was thankful he did not require sleep, as night as the best time for him to be alone. Almost no one was out at this hour, most having gone to sleep for the night, most that is...

"Well, well, well, looks like we've got ourselves a fancy knight here." A sleazy voice called from the darkness, and a man with tattered clothes, brandishing a guard's sword stepped out from an alleyway. Several other men proceeded to surround him. Two from behind the first man, and five more from the alleys around him. "Thats a nice looking suit of armor, why don't you take that off for us would you?" This was the second time someone had tried to get him to remove his armor, and Adrien was starting to get annoyed.

"Wait, thats the guy who's been killing our guys!" One of the men behind him exclaimed, to which the others began to murmur to themselves. While it was true he had been killing small muggers, thieves, and other no-gooders, Adrien did not know he had been doing enough to actually garner attention. Much less that the thieves had some kind of organization to themselves.

"Well then, It looks like your luck's run out, Its time for you to meet your end." The first one spoke again, and without another warning, one of the men behind Adrien rushed with an overhead strike. The undead caught the strike with his left hand without looking, and then threw the man at the three in front of him. The impressive feat of strength caused the others to pause, which was a fatal mistake. Instead of brandishing his sword, the Unkindled instead rushed the man on his right, and grabbed his face with his hand. The action surprised, confused, and scared the man, but he couldn't ponder it for any longer as a red aura surrounded the hand, and sickly pale light began to surround the area around his head. The mortal screamed in agony, and his comrades attempted to intervene, but it was too late. The Ashen one threw the man at the other in a similar fashion to his first attacker. However the man he threw was now a wrinkled corpse, and looked as if the moisture in his skin had been sucked out, the sight horrifying the others. Adrien now held in his hand, a pice of humanity, the pure black substance a hypnotizing sight to him.

While he knew of the substance, he never needed to use it because of the embers he would use instead. Of course he was not embered at the moment, and unless he needed to he saw no reason to use one. The humanity should be enough to keep him healed if he ran out of estus. Thanks to the fact everyone here is a mortal, the dark hand would prove invaluable in his time here.

"W-What the hell!?" One of the men shouted, terrified at the corpse of one of his other companions. The Knight's hand was engulfed in a hellish red light, and this was giving all of them there second thoughts on fighting him. The First one to talk to the knight then rushed him, seeking vengeance for his comrade. Undoubtedly he was full of rage and hatred, wanting to release the other low life's in the area from his terror. The cloaked knight nonchalantly knocked the sword away with his armored gauntlet, and grabbed the mans face, just like the one before. Soon he was reduced to the same sate. The thieves began to flee, but the knight was rushing after them. One after another they fell to either swiftly thrown knives, or the same life eating effect. Then only one was left, he had tripped and was now on his back, trying to crawl away while looking at the knight.

"W-What are you!?" The last thief screamed in horror, aiming his shaking sword at the Unkindled. Adrien looked at the man briefly, before kicking the sword out of his hand. Adrien grabbed his face, and brought it closer to his helmet. He really wished he could avoid these kinds of confrontations, but now that they've seen his Dark hand, he couldn't let them live. Which only reminded him of what he truly was.

"A monster." At that, he drained the man's humanity.

Perhaps now he could think. The revelation about what Firearms was had been after reading about general Budo and Esdeath. The book said that Budo was the active general over the majority of the empire's forces, and thus stayed in the capital. Meaning he was close. Esdeath was a different story, the book said that Esdeath often wasn't in any particular place, and instead was often on military campaigns, although she did have a bedroom in the capital's castle. While specifics couldn't be give for security reasons, the book somewhat described their imperial arms. Budo's was a pair of gauntlets that could control Lightning, while Esdeath's was the ability to create and manipulate ice. Both of these ability's where familiar to the Unkindled, The nameless king and Sister Friede came to his mind. Although how they would differ from the powerful enemies of his own land he did not know.

Adrien's thoughts turned to the Emperor as he continued to walk. While still a child, most people would say he is a horrible person. If this was the case then there was perhaps no hope for his future, but until he met him personally he did not know. It was entirely possible, and more likely that the prime minister was manipulating him, while keeping the young emperor in the dark of what he was truly allowing. _The only way to truly know was to find a way to meet the emperor himself, perhaps Seryu would know a way?_ _Although she is but a guard, it was unlikely I'd get to see the emperor through her. The emperor is technically above the Prime Minister, so perhaps if someone could convince the emperor that the Prime Minister was the cause of the people's suffering, then perhaps the prevailing Darkness would not erupt like it has before._ Adrien's thoughts were interrupted by a sound.

He heard the shuffling of footsteps behind him, and he turned around, only to see nothing. He was sure he heard someone, but chose to move on. He was still walking further and further away from the city, until he heard the sound of small explosions, similar to the gunshots he heard at the fort when he first arrived in this age. Then he heard the roar of a beast. _Monsters should not be this close to the city._ He thought to himself, and proceeded to go towards the location of the sound. Soon he found the forest was getting thicker, and he now found himself looking into a large courtyard like area with nothing inside it. _Why does this city have so many areas that would be perfect to fight an heir of fire in?_ He asked himself, and soon found the source of the roar. It was a large muscular canine like creature that had striking similarities to Seryu's Koro. The Unkindled was about to chalk it up to coincidence, before he saw the guard herself. She was facing off against two women, one was the familiar Night raid member that was with Tatsumi on that day, while the other was one from the posters named Sheele. The Pink haired member had what appeared to be an oversized version of some of the Firearms he's seen, while Sheele seemed to carry a Giant pair of scissors. It appears she's also wearing a scantily clad purple dress.

They were ready to fight, and in seconds all hell would break loose. They hadn't noticed him yet, but Adrien was unsure of what he wanted to do. He said he would help Seryu, but did he want to become an even bigger target for Night raid? _Perhaps I should leave...But It would be wrong to not do something. It was two against two, but since it appears that Koro himself is one of those...Imperial arms, so it would be two against one? Either way I believe it is time to decide._

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **A CLIFFHANGER!? Yea, I don't do them often, but I decided to do it today, as I wanted to get a chapter out, and I had pretty much included most of what I wanted anyway. Sorry if you were hoping for a more action packed fight scene, but don't worry, the next chapter will be longer, and will be much more eventful.**

 **To Guest117 (John is that you?) Thanks for your comment, and I'm afraid I'm just going to have to let you theorize, as I'm keeping my mouth shut on that :P** **The only reason I'm responding in the Author's notes is because I can't respond to you Directly. (As I do with most reviewers with questions, and or intriguing comments.)**

 **So don't be afraid to comment, or critique on my fic, constructive criticism is always welcome! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5-Soul of the Infamous Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls, or Akame ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the Infamous Part 2**

"Crush her!" Seryu cried while pointing toward the two others, and Koro responded with a roar as he charged them, his arms flailing about in swift punches.

"Mine, just stay behind me." Sheele said to her mind, and using her scissors she blocked strike, but not without gritting her teeth, trying to withstand the attack. A high pitched whistle pierced the night air, and everyone present looked to Seryu where the noise came from. She was holding a dog whistle like object, and was smiling sadistically.

"That things too strong to defeat, and she's just called reinforcements." Mine observed, and looked at how Sheele was fairing against the dog monster. "That means we're in big trouble. Perfect." At that she jumped up and aimed her gun at the biological imperial arms. "You still hungry little guy? Eat this!" At her words, a large beam emitted from her weapon, the energy from the attack making the wind rush away from it, making her long pink hair, and ornate pink dress billow in the wind. The beam engulfed the giant dog. It screamed in pain as the beam hit him.

"Did her weapon just improve?" Seryu asked incredulously, as dust continued to fly past her. A large hole was left where the beam made direct contact, but it soon began shrinking.

"Damn, that things already starting to regenerate again. This is not good." Mine observed, seeing Koro's body shaping back to it's original form. Seryu cackled madly.

"You should never underestimate an imperial arms." Seryu said, and from the dust around her, a figure quickly approached. It was Sheele, and she had her scissors in her right hand, ready to strike.

"One thing about weapons." Sheele breathed out, still a little tired from blocking Koro's attack. "They can't move if the wielder is dead." She approached rapidly, and Sheele brought up her pistols in defense. _Better use my trump card._ Sheele thought, seeing the opportunity. "Extase!" At her words, the pair of scissors erupted in blinding light, forcing Seryu to block the extreme illumination. Sheele went for the strike "You've run out of time." Her scissors flew at incredible speed, attempting to hit the guard, but Seryu managed to block each strike. The combat slowed down, and Seryu jumped back, but not before defending against two more heavy hits from the assassin. Koro attempted to help, but Mine shot a portion of its side off to keep it on her.

Adrien watched from the sidelines with interest. _They are not moving like other mortals I've fought, perhaps their imperial arms makes them faster. Although I had not fought with Zank for long, I could tell he was fighting significantly better than anyone else I had seen so far in this world. These imperial arms continue to intrigue me._ Adrien thought, continuing to observe the fight, and how Night raid operated as a team. Then he saw Seryu's and Sheele's fight proceed into the forest. _I suppose I should make sure she doesn't get hurt._ At that, the unkindled quickly made his way to where they were fighting.

Sheele continued to pursue the troublesome guard, and was having trouble landing a solid hit. Her hard work seemed to pay off, as the biological Imperial arms user tripped on a rock while running backwards. In her shock, the guard dropped one of her pistol-shields, and she put her arms up, anticipating an attack. Sheele heaved her scissors, positioned herself above the guard, and quickly brought the weapon down, aiming to strike down the guard. As she believed her Scissors made contact, a grey blur flew by, seeming to merge with the guard, before disappearing. Her scissors seemed to not make contact with anything, and she looked carefully, before realizing there was now a pice of greenish cloth that was perfectly cut from where it once was. An obvious result of her weapon, but Sheele wondered where the guard was.

"M-Mr Adrien?" The same guard's voice cut through the night, and Sheele looked to where it came from. She saw that the guard was no longer on the ground, and instead was in the arms of a what appeared to be a dark armored knight. The cloak on him was the same dark green color as the piece of cloth in front of her. The knight looked briefly to the back of his cloak, where there was a distinct cut that left a good portion of his armored legs and back exposed. The knight then looked to Sheele, and while she couldn't see his face, she could tell he wasn't exactly happy with her.

"Hello Seryu." Adrien simply said, and he put her down, allowing her to stand up. He took a defensive position in front of her, and faced the assassin. "Go, I'll take it from here." At his words, Seryu looked worriedly at him for a moment, but remembering he had killed Zank, decided not to argue, and left to reunite with Koro. This left the knight and the Assassin to square off, however Adrien calmly walked toward her. She readied herself, preparing for the worst. Her colleagues undoubtedly warned her about him, and Adrien couldn't blame her for the hostility. She backed away, thinking he might strike, but it never came, as he casually picked up the piece of cloth that she had cut off. He stuck the cloth in the bottomless box, and he faced the assassin again, seeing her still on edge. "I will not let you hurt her." He said ominously, and Sheele tensed.

"You know I can't just let her go, why are you helping her?" Sheele asked dangerously, and steadied herself again, preparing to strike the knight in front of her. "If you get in our way, we'll be forced to take you out." Adrien didn't respond, instead he stared at her for a moment, and Sheele wasn't sure what he was going to do.

"If thats the way it is. Then so be it." Adrien said, and raised his armored fists in a boxer like stance. Sheele rushed him, attempting to take out the knight quickly. She separated the blades, and prepared to trap the knight in between. He didn't move, allowing himself to get inside the closing distance of the blades. She was about to close the Scissors and kill him, but the knight placed both his hands on either blade of the Scissors, and prevented her from closing it. Sheele pressed harder, but her blades did not budge. Sheele suddenly became very worried, as that should not be possible. The unkindled skillfully raised the Scissors, allowing it to close above him, and throwing his opponent off. He threw a swift punch at her stomach, while keeping ahold of her Scissors, allowing him to separate her from her weapon. She backed away in shock at the swift movements. She had keeled over, and when she looked up, she saw that the unkindled now had Extase in his hands.

 _In a few moments, Extase should reject him, and I'll be able to reclaim it._ Sheele thought as she coughed again from the punch. _He really hits hard._ Sheele had to quickly recover as Adrien rushed her with Extase in hand. She dodged several strikes made with her own weapon, and manged to make her way back to the open courtyard. Mine was having trouble since Seryu had returned. _Extase should be rejecting him! This isn't good._ She returned to Mine's side, as the pink haired girl shot another hole into Koro. Adrien decided to run to the side of Seryu and Koro, brandishing Extase all the while. Mine was the first to notice.

"Sheele, why does he have your Imperial arms?" Mine asked, with a slightly panicked tone to her voice. The girl in question didn't respond, instead she glared at the knight with her weapon. Seryu and Koro stood their ground, waiting for someone to make a move. Seryu then noticed Adrien's new weapon.

"Great job! You've disarmed her, and it looks like you can use her imperial arms." Seryu said gleefully, and then she glared at the Night raid members. "I knew you'd come to the side of justice, now they only have one imperial arms, while we have two! Looks like their time is up." Mine and Sheele looked at each other, and then at their opponents, realizing that the guard, while a little crazy, was right.

"Don't misunderstand my intention and reason for fighting with you." Adrien suddenly said, getting everyone's attention. "I said I would fight with you against them if you found yourself in combat, but I never said I would fight with you because I want to fight with the empire. I fight...Because you are my fiend." His statement struck Seryu with mixed emotions. While he wasn't fighting for the empire, and this did upset her somewhat, he was instead fighting because he considered her a friend. Seryu was quite touched by the sentiment, and Koro mirrored this, feeling his master's emotions. Before she could respond, Mine attempted to take advantage of the moment, by trying to shoot Seryu down. Adrien quickly jumped in the way of the shot, and he blocked the attack with the Scissors. The energy blast was reflected off the reflective surface of the metal, and it shot off to the side, hitting a tree, and making a new home for a squirrel somewhere.

Sheele ran forward, and engaged Adrien in combat, while she couldn't attack, she had a plan to get her weapon back, and eliminate the knight at the same time. Adrien in response began striking with the scissors, but Sheele knew her weapon well enough to keep out of it's deadly range. Koro charged Mine, and in return she began firing large shots at rapid fire. Thanks to the danger of the situation, the gun had become even more powerful than before.

 _These mortals are certainly not normal, this one has been able to dodge my attacks quite effectively. I do not know this weapon however, so I am not used to it's unique shape._ Adrien thought as he assaulted Sheele. The girl continued to dodge, but he was starting to get used to the weapon, and her dodging patterns. One nick here, a scratch there, some cut hair, to eventually he was starting to cut her up badly. She was becoming slower as well. Eventually she made her way a few yards from Mine, who was keeping Seryu and Koro at bay. He rushed her, and instead of simply dodging, she jumped up above his head, getting behind him, and grabbed onto his arms from behind and pulled. She was attempting to pin him, but he was not budging. _Fool._ He reached behind him, and easily grabbed Sheele's hair He slammed the girl in front of him, and her breath was forced out of her. _Interesting, even without her imperial arms, her strength was greater than any other mortal I have faced besides Zank. Easily comparable to a lesser undead._

"Sheele!" Mine yelled, seeing her friend getting hurt. She focused her attention on the knight, and before the unkindled could react started shooting. Beams of energy erupted from her weapon, and struck Adrien. Having one of his hands on Sheele's head, he could not raise the scissors to block. He let go of the girls head, and attempted to secure the weapon in his hand, but the blasts kept him there, his poise not high enough. Many of the shots penetrated his armor, some would miss, or bounce off particular plates, but most would go through, his armor not meant to withstand attacks from Firearms. Eventually she relented, having to shoot at Koro to keep him down. The unkindled stood here, his armor smoking, and his cloak singed. A moment later, he collapsed, his body dropping like a corpse. Sheele quickly grabbed her weapon from the limp knight, and returned to Mine's side. Smoke was rising from the fallen knight, and Seryu looked horrified.

"Mr Adrien? Are you ok?" Seryu asked incredulously, and he didn't move form his place on the ground. Her anger began to rise again, and her desperateness also rose. "Mr Adrien!" She screamed, as tears began to fall down her face. _No, Nononononononono!_ She thought, her brain racking itself in vain for a way to save the knight. "You Bastards! First it was Ogre, and now Its Adrien...I'll make you pay. Koro!" The Dog in question looked at his master. "Use Berser-" She was cut off by the sound of stone breaking. Everyone looked to where the sound originated, and saw the knight that they all thought was dead. He had crushed one of the stone plates with his right hand, and was picking himself up. Seryu gasped in excitement, and Koro looked happy as well. "Mr Adrien your alive!" The knight brought himself to standing, and brought out a golden drink. After he took a sip, a slight golden glow engulfed his chest. He started down the two night raid members. The two assassins looked as though they were looking at a ghost, their horrified expressions spoke volumes as to what they expected.

"N-No way." Mine said, still not believing what she was seeing. Sheele seemed even more on edge than before. Before anything else could happen, Adrien stuck his hand into his bottomless box, and withdrew a large strange looking crossbow. It had some kind of circular contraption on top of it, and was of decent size. The handle was covered in tattered cloth, and every metal component of it was faded with rust. "What the hell is-" Before Mine could ask, Adrien leveled the crossbow at them and fired. A stream of arrows was thrown from the crossbow, thanks to it's contraption. Both Sheele and Mine jumped out of the way, Sheele jumped to the left, and Mine to the right. Adrien decided to pursue Mine, and before she could raise her weapon, he grabbed the top of it, and forced it down. She had attempted to shoot, and had wound up shooting into the ground harmlessly. Adrien had put his crossbow on his back, and slammed his hand into her forehead. He had grabbed her head at the same time, and kept her there. Now with his hand keeping her weapon down, and his other hand was holding her head securely. Sheele was shocked, and rushed to help her companion, but Koro and Seryu blocked her. "L-Let go of me!" Mine said angrily, and attempted to reign herself free, but in response Adrien forcibly separated the small girl from her gun, keeping them apart from each other with his arm length. "N-No, give me back Pumpkin!" She shouted in defiance, and grabbed the unkindled's arm and attempted to free herself to no avail.

"Stop struggling, and I will not kill you." Adrien said annoyed under his breath, but Mine did not hear him. He then activated his Dark hand, and began to drain her humanity. He dialed back it's power, as he did not want to cause true damage. She screamed nonetheless. Sheele responded as expected, she dashed forwards, cutting Koro up enough to get past, and Seryu shot at her, but Sheele blocked each shot, but did not come after her, instead she kept rushing towards Adrien's back. Adrien turned his head to see her approaching, but by the time he did so, she jumped onto his back, and opened up her scissors. Instead of killing him however, she impaled both of his arms with each blade, and thrust it into the ground, The weapon piercing his armor with ease. This forced Adrien down, and trapped the undead. He was forced to let go of both Mine and her weapon as well, and she reclaimed her weapon as soon as she could. Mine retreaded in front of them. A roar erupted from behind Sheele, and she looked behind her to see Koro charging her. She removed her weapon from Adrien, and jumped away to join Mine.

"Are you alright?" Sheele asked as she stood defensively. Mine didn't respond, as her mouth was in her elbow sleeve, and was coughing. Her hair had greyed a bit at the roots, and Pumpkin was sparking slightly, with it's sparking intensifying by the moment.

"I'm fine, I don't know what he did, but it hurt." Mine responded. "I don't know if we can win this fight, that knight isn't normal." As if proving her point, the knight got up from his place on the ground, and flexed his hands, as if his arms had not been impaled by Sheele's scissors just a few seconds ago. He removed the crossbow from his back, and aimed it at them again, and fired, forcing both of them to block the hail of arrows with their respective weapons.

"Are you okay Mr Adrien?" Seryu asked as she ran up beside him, and he nodded. Koro growled at the two assassins, and in response, they glared at them. "We should finish them, they're on the ropes, and injured." _With that Mine Character weakened by whatever Adrien did, and Sheele cut up also by Adrien, it won't take long to finish them._ Seryu thought, and she raised her pistols. Mine raised her gun, but Pumpkin's sparking from earlier intensified briefly, shocking Mine in the process.

"Mine!" Sheele cried, seeing her friend in pain, then Koro rushed, she jumped above the dog and sliced a deep gash in it, while Seryu readied her guns at the mid-air assassin. Unable to dodge, she blocked the shots with her imperial arms, and landed safely. "Whats wrong?" She asked her friend, who was struggling to hold the firearm in her hands.

"I-I don't know, but Pumpkin is rejecting me." This caused everyone there, except for Adrien and Koro to pause in shock. "This is the kind of thing that happened to those that were incompatible, and now Pumpkin is doing the same thing to me." Sheele now truly saw the gravity of their situation, and was about to activate her Trump card, but a certain knight would not stand for it. Adrien rushed the purple clad assassin, and grabbed Extase's handle before Sheele could react.

"Extase." Adrien said blankly, and the imperial arms lit up in a bright light, stunning everyone in more than one way. Seryu couldn't see anything, but she could tell the light was moving based off the shadows she could peak at. Then it stopped, the light died, and standing there with Extase in his hands, alone, with nothing else around him, was Adrien. Sheele was nowhere to be found, aside from some new blood splatters present on the ground. Mine looked horrified, not knowing what just happened. Seryu was grinning from ear to ear.

"You eviscerated her! HAHAHA" Seryu laughed manically, and then set her sights on Mine. "Alone, Injured, and unable to use her imperial arms, this member of Night raid seems to be out of luck." In response the pink assassin looked at the guard angrily, pointed her gun at the ground, and even while it was sparking she pulled the trigger, making a powerful beam slam into the ground, and launch her away from the sight. The resulting dust and debris kept both Seryu and Koro at bay as she made her escape. Right then, a multitude of footsteps could be heard from behind Seryu, and she turned around to see guards rushing in from all over the place. They quickly secured the area. Adrien was still holding the young assassin's imperial arms, and was looking at where Mine had escaped intently. Then multiple guards surrounded him, and pointed their guns at him.

"Surrender, and put down the weapon!" One of the guards shouted, but the undead did not move, instead he simply looked at them all. Seryu quickly intervened.

"Wait! He's with me, and I vouch for him." Seryu said determinedly while standing in front of the unkindled protectively, the guards seemed apprehensive, before Koro stood next to her and growled at them. They went to find other areas to 'secure'. "Are you alright?" Seryu asked, and the unkindled nodded. Koro shrunk down to his normal size, and nuzzled up next to his master. Seryu looked down at him smiling, and then faced Adrien again. "Thank you, if it wasn't for your intervention, I don't know if we could have really won that." Adrien nodded again, before he stuffed the weapon in his hands into his bottomless box. Seryu looked stunned for a moment, but after all she went through, she thought it best to save that question for later.

"If you need me again, you know where to find me." Seryu looked at him with wide eyes. Adrien turned and began to leave

"Wait, your going to leave already!? Why?" She sounded almost hurt, and she reached out to him, but did not move.

"I have some business to attend to tonight, but we will meet again." Soon after he walked out of the courtyard, and made his way back to the Inn. Seryu watched him leave, and she thought about his words from earlier, and she smiled. While she would have liked that he fought for the empire, the fact he would fight for no other reason than she was is friend meant a lot to her. Koro sighed contently as he sat down by her leg, and she chuckled at him. _But soon, maybe he'll fight for the empire as well. Huh? Is he holding something? I don't see anything, but he has something under his arm, weird._

* * *

Night raid stood there shocked, having just received the news of that night's attack. Even Akame, who was normally stoic in her demeanor, was showing obvious signs of shock. Rain poured around them, but not a single one seemed to mind. Mine had pumpkin in a sling across her back, and her dress was unusually dirty. Then Tatsumi approached Mine, with an unbelieving look in his eyes.

"W-Where is he? Mine, Where is he?" Tatsumi asked, but Mine didn't respond, instead she kept looking at the ground. The rest of Night raid looked on in pity for their newest member. "Hey! Where is he! We need to take him out now! He killed Sheele! MIN-" Tatsumi was cut off by Bulat punching him in the face. He was launched several feet away, and he looked towards the larger man. "B-Bro?" He asked pitifully, and Bulat looked at him angrily.

"Tatsumi! Acting irrationally now is not what we should be doing right now! We told you from the beginning, any one of us could die at any time! Its simply the risk we take to ensure we can root out the corruption in the capital. I understand how you feel, and we all feel the same way, but we should focus on the right thing to do next, instead of seeking revenge right away." Bulat's words hit Tatsumi hard, and he didn't respond. Instead he stayed on the ground, not wanting to get up. The rest of Night raid continued to stand, and Mine grew an angry scowl on her face.

 _No matter what, I'll make you pay for what you did! I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth if I have to, but I will avenge Sheele you armored bastard!_ Mine's self declaration echoed in her mind as the rain continued to pour around them. Perhaps she would get her revenge, but there was an underlying fear in her mind, especially regarding Pumpkin. If it was acting that violently, then that means Adrien did something to keep her from using it. At least not without hurting herself to do so.

* * *

"Well, that was certainly unexpected Esdeath, although it was quite the time coming. You are of age, so it was only natural that you'd seek a suitable mate." Honest said as he and the general walked down a hallway within the capital. While Honest was wearing comfortable looking noble-like robes, Esdeath in contrast wore a white officer's uniform, high boots, and a general's hat. Her uniform was trimmed in back, and her skin was a fine pale. If someone were to see her, they would never think her an actually dangerous opponent, a fact that she's used to her advantage more than once. Her long smooth blue hair and voluptuous body in stark contrast to Honest's rather fat body, and relatively well kept grey hair. All in all it was like seeing a literal left and right of body types walking down the same hallway together.

"Yes, well I do have a list of requirements my suitor must meet." Esdeath said cooly and handed the minister a small piece of paper. He looked at it briefly, before putting it away in his robes for later. "I will also need a new team. All with imperial arms of course." At her words, Honest raised an eyebrow.

"You already have the three beasts do you not? Why do you require another team of imperial arms users?"

"Well, if I want to defeat Night raid, who is a team of highly trained assassins, and presumably all with imperial arms, do you think four would be enough?" Honest considered that for a moment, before he began laughing. Esdeath looked at him slightly offended.

"My apologies Esdeath, but I'm pretty sure that you could eliminate all of Night raid on your own if you wanted to. Hell, some mercenary was able to kill a member of them not three days ago!" That caught Esdeath's attention, as she looked at him inquisitively. "Ah, I suppose you have not heard have you? Well you see a mercenary showed up in the capital recently, along with a servant of his. Normally this would be of no interest to me, and it wasn't. I first heard about the man when the emperor read a front page article talking about how he had killed Zank, and how he had been helping the people on the west side of the city. Presumably thats where he lives. Now I get a report that a member of Night raid was actually eviscerated by him by using the imperial arms that belonged to the same member of Night raid." Esdeath's eyes widened slightly at the news.

"So he is capable of using two imperial arms?"

"To be honest, we don't know, but before he used the one he got from night raid, there was no concrete evidence of him owning an imperial arms. Of course thats the problem now. He has the imperial arms that belonged to a member of night raid, and he isn't permitted to use it by the empire." Honest said with a slight smirk. "The perfect excuse to either get him out of our hair, or...Perhaps recruit him?"

"What do you mean? Also didn't Zank also own an imperial arms, what of that one?"

"That we know from a guard that is particularly close to the knight named Seryu Ubiquitous. She gave a full report of what the knight said about his encounter with Zank, and most recently on the encounter with Night raid, that she was also involved in. The imperial arms Zank possessed is now in the hands of Night raid, as he gave them the weapon in exchange for him to leave without a fight. From both reports I've gathered that the knight doesn't feel any animosity towards the empire, so I was thinking he would be another bodyguard for you, but considering you want a full team now, perhaps a member of that? Especially since he has encountered Night raid twice now, if not more times." Esdeath stopped, and put a hand to her chin, considering the notion.

"Perhaps, I would suggest leaving him alone for now, I'd also like to see those reports you spoke of." Honest nodded, and they continued walking. "Well I can already tell that my time here in the capital is going to be an interesting one." _Huh, a knight...Well lets see just what you have in store for me._

* * *

A sudden gasp alerted the Firekeeper to their guest's consciousness. She slowly got up with a tray of fresh food and drink, and opened the door to the guest room gingerly. Ever since the unkindled had upgraded to a bigger room, she had a lot more thing she could do. Mostly chores, but it was something that kept the Firekeeper busy when the Ashen one was away. Now she had quite a bit to do. Their guest looked up form the bed at the Firekeeper. She had bandages covering most of her body, and an especially thick one across her mid-section. However she was still easily recognizable as Sheele of Night raid.

"W-Wha? Who are you? Where am I? What happened?" The Firekeeper had expected such questions, and sat the food down on their guest's lap, and propped her head up with another pillow. Sheele looked grateful, but was still waiting on an answer.

"I am the Firekeeper, although that moniker might not be as appropriate now. Thou art in a guest room within the ashen one's inn-room. Thou hast been in combat with the ashen one, and thou wast injured badly. I suggest not moving much, thoust still needs to recover." The Firekeeper responded, and Sheele nodded in understanding. She began to eat some of the food on the tray, and hummed in appreciation at the good food. Then the sound of armored footsteps reached their ears, and soon Adrien came into view. He was not wearing his older armor, instead he was wearing the elite armor set, it's more regal style a stark contrast to the foreboding atmosphere the fallen knight armor often gave. Sheele tensed slightly, as he approached, remembering their fight.

"Are you alright?" His question shocked Sheele, as she hadn't expected him to go from trying to kill her, to actually asking if she was ok.

"I-I suppose, but why didn't you kill me?" Adrien didn't respond to Sheele's question, but instead glanced at the Firekeeper.

"I hath already begun repairing thou's cloak, and all of her wounds hast been covered." The Firekeeper said, apparently responding to the unspoken question. He nodded in approval of her work.

"I didn't end you because it would be too much trouble. Having Night raid going after me because I killed one of their members would be hard to deal with. Of course I'm probably already on their watchlist, but once you are healed, I can deliver you to them in exchange for a truce between me and them." Adrien told Sheele, and her eye's widened slightly. The plan was doable, but now Night raid probably thought she was dead. So now they would be going after him, and she may not recover in time. She wasn't sure what she should think about the knight now, on one hand he hurt both her and Mine, but he had more or less saved her from the guards at the same time. She was growing confused.

"Well, they probably think I'm dead, so they're probably going to go after you anyway." Sheele said, and Adrien nodded.

"Thats why I won't be staying here, I have other business I need to do, and If I stay away from here, they will be less likely to come here." Adrien said, and he nodded at the Firekeeper, went to the doorway, and looked at Sheele again. "The sooner you get better, the sooner you can leave, and go back to your teammates." Then he closed the door, and left the room. Sheele looked down at her food, and drunk some water from the cup in front of her. Being without food or water fro three day will sure make you desperate for nutrition.

"Once thou art well enough, the ashen one will want you to take him to thou's hideout, so he can deliver thou to them." The Firekeeper said, observing how she ate, and thinking about what it was like to actually need food and water.

"I figured that, Najenda won't be happy if I lead a stranger to the hideout, especially a stranger like him." She said plainly, and the Firekeeper smiled slightly, seeing her ignorant innocence. She got up form her place on the bed, and made for the door.

"If thou requires anything, do not hesitate to ask." At that, the Firekeeper left the room, leaving Sheele to herself. The first thing she thought of was trying to escape, but when she tried to move, a sudden jolt of pain threw that plan out the window. She was in too bad of a state to try to escape. _I guess I'm stuck here, I might as well get myself into better shape._ Sheele picked up her glasses from the desk next to her bed, and put them on. She looked out of the window at the scenery around the inn, the Sun's light illuminating the streets. She recognized this part of town, and sighed to herself. It was so peaceful outside, and yet so many horrible things happened outside of the public eye. I made her envy them, how they can just shut their eyes, but then again the heavy taxes and burdens put upon normal people have made them question the leadership, but not enough to revolt. At least not yet.

The unkindled walked the roads of the capital, the light of day leading him, but he walked with purpose. There was a particular spot that he needed to visit again from last night. Once he reached the spot, he looked down an alleyway. It was the same one he was near when he had encountered the hoodlums that tried to assault him. When he looked down the alley, he was surprised to see something twinkling back at him. The rest of the alley was almost pitch black, but the twinkling item was a bright gold. He walked towards it, and once he was by it, he picked it up seeing it was just a gold painted piece of metal. He was now deep into the alley, the entrance at least twenty feet away. Then A large weight suddenly cemented itself on top of him. A blade was slammed into the back of his head, and the ground underneath him cracked slightly. He recognized the blade, and he knew exactly who would set up a trap like this.

"Hello Patches." Adrien said normally, and the man above him chuckled a bit.

"Hello ol' chum. How ya been?" He asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. He got off of the unkindled, and in response Adrien also got up, and looked towards Patches unamused. The other undead was wearing his usual attire, but was still using the splitleaf greatsword, and the curse ward greatshield. The large shield and odd halberd were very large in comparison to the rest of the alley, and his bald head was also a stark contrast to most of the people he had met here in the capital. The basic looking brown armor was admittedly a bit comforting to Adrien. Seeing something familiar in this very different world was certainly an unexpected, but still welcome, comfort. "I thought I'd see you at some point, didn't know it would take you so long though."

"I didn't know anyone else would still be alive after all this time." Adrien responded, and felt his body heal from the plunging attack thanks to the sun princess ring.

"Well, I doubt you could call me 'alive', but don't you remember my moniker? I'm patches the unbreakable! Nothing can break me, not even the age of Dark." Adrien looked at him blankly, and while his face was hidden behind the elite knight helmet, Patches could tell he was looking at him with suspicion and doubt. "Alright, maybe I had some help from some purging stones and humanity, but I've more or less stayed sane by myself." The unkindled nodded, satisfied with the answer. "So I can give two or more guesses why you've come to the capital. C'mon, lets go on a walk." Patches puts his weapons on his back, and leaves the alley with the ashen one following.

"Is anyone else here?" Adrien asked, and patches sighed as they walked down the streets of the capital.

"I'll get to that in a bit, for now I should probably tell you just how deep this empire's corruption lies. Cause' Ive seen it from the start." The Unkindled considered that, if Patches had seen this empire from the beginning to now, then he probably has a unique perspective on the current situation. _Lets see what he has to say._

* * *

"She's right in here." The burly man said, and Leone followed his lead. Leone's short blonde hair and long bangs swayed slightly as she entered the small marketplace. Her scantily clad clothes caught the attention of some of the men in the house, but she ignored it, as she had something much more important to do. She approached a woman in a modest dress collecting groceries, and had a content smile on her face. She noticed Leone approaching, and waved, recognizing her. Leone smiled softly and reciprocated the gesture.

"Hello Leone, what brings you here today?" The woman asked, and Leone smiled sheepishly.

"Hey Claire, it has to do with something that happened a while back, and I was wondering if you didn't mind if I talked to you about it." Claire looked at Leone curiously, wondering what exactly the busty woman was talking about. "its about that night when you met **the** knight." Leone said, putting emphasis on the subject, and suddenly Claire realized what Leone wanted.

"Its fine, not a lot happened in reality, and I'm sure you've heard about it right?" Leone nodded, remembering the story being passed in the slums and in the middle class western part of the capital. "Well theres nothing much I can really add, except that if it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be as cheery as I am today. I really need to meet him again. So I can thank him properly, maybe a homemade pie, what do you think?" Leone didn't respond, instead she just looked out into space, thinking. _First he shows up and no one knows anything about him, then he kills Zank, then he starts helping people around here for nothing in return, and now he suddenly kills Sheele! What the hell is with that dude...wait a second._

"Hey, didn't you say two of your assaulters were imperial guards?" Claire nodded in response.

"Yes, they were the ones that got killed by the knight. Of course the barracks doesn't seem to care, I heard they were bad at their job anyway. Go figure." She said humorously, and Leone put a pice of the puzzle that was Adrien together. _He really is staying truly neutral, he's killed guards of the empire, and he's killed...Killed us as well. So what is his next step going to be? He certainly isn't a mercenary, as he hasn't really gone pursuing any kind of jobs other than Zank's bounty. Maybe I could talk to that servant of his, if anyone has any clue to it, its got to be her. But maybe another day, still don't know where that bastard is hiding out._

Leone left shortly after giving her goodbyes to Claire, and was soon heading back to Night Raid's hideout to tell Najenda what she's found.

* * *

 **Authors notes**

 **Dis that Cliffhanger kill you? Don't worry, this isn't a cliffhanger, its juts enough to keep you interested lol. Its very late for me, so forgive me if the final paragraphs are a little rough around the edges. Also don't worry too much about Patches, he won't play a game changing role in the story, he'll still be his old self, at least I hope I can portray him as such. Now to respond to guest reviewers.**

 **To: Guest117**

 **Well nothings been wholly decided in the story yet, so you'll know who he eventually sides with when it comes to that. I don't want to spoil anything Although I'm glad i've sparked such conversation. Also to the question about the power of imperial arms users compared to undead and hollows...Imagine them better than most undead, and certainly more skilled than hollows. I've noticed that the characters in Akame ga kill are either super fast or super strong, but don't necessarily become tougher. There are a few exceptions obviously (Incursio) but for the most part while an imperial rms user might be able to outmaneuver the average undead that doesn't mean they are necissarily stronger or tougher than one.**

 **To: Lone commander**

 **Thank you, I've tried to portray the ashen one as much of a neutral character as possible, showing that he will defend himself, those he likes, and those that are in need. Not caring who is causing one particular offense. I won't comment on your second review, as I still don't want to spoil anything.**

 **To: Guest**

 **I have saved Sheele, and I have continued this Fic. Thanks for the support, but I can't comment on anything else. Hehe**

 **To the rest of you: Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story. Even thought my first one has over one hundred thousand words, this story already has more followers and favorites, and it has never really opened up this kind of discussion. I'm so glad that you guys are split, as that says to me that I've succeeded in making a believably neutral character, and that I've created different opinions about my story and what the ashen one should do. So thank you all truly. Anyways enough with the sappy stuff, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6-Soul of the Unbreakable

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga kill.**

 **Soul of the Unbreakable**

Adrien followed Patches out of the capital as the undead told him of crimes he had witnessed during the time the empire had truly started being corrupt. Patches also told him of the crimes that honest had committed. It seemed as though Honest had truly made the corruption bad, but it had always been present more or less. The scenery around them continued to change to a snowy tundra like area as they kept walking. Adrien considered his words, especially when he started talking about the revolutionary army that had emerged because of the corruption, and more specifically because of the heavy taxes.

"I see so what is Night raid in all of this then?" Adrien asked, looking towards the undead, who simply smiled.

"They're the revolutionary army's hitmen. Thats why they've been taking out targets in the empire, they're trying to do as much damage as possible from their vantage point. Of course they'd never be able to get close to Honest or the emperor especially with Esdeath and Budo so close." Patches' words cause Adrien to look at the undead, and Patches realizes what he wants. "Ah, well lest just say I have my sources, not to mention I've been here long enough to know what's going on. Oh I should probably let you know I've been working for the revolutionary army for a while now. Its gives me something to do, and It certainly helps me accomplish my goals." Adrien looked at him for a bit, and then nodded in understanding. They kept walking, and it became later and later in the day. They then approached a small campsite, where there was the remains of a campfire, with some smoke still coming off of the charred wood. "Welp, this is my camp, lets stay here for a while, I have a few more things to tell you." Adrien nodded, and took a seat on one of the logs next to the campfire. Patches followed suit, and begun working on rekindling the fire. Adrien watched him intently.

 _How long has it been? Since I was meant to rekindle that accursed flame? What has become of the rest of my friends since I 'Failed' my duty. What has become of lothric? What of the world I once knew?_ Adrien lost himself in his thoughts, mostly of what could have possibly happened, most of his thought went towards how they might of survived, and what they could be doing now. Patches notices this after he manages to rekindle the fire.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself there." Patches says, seeming to read his mind. "I guess I should start at the end. After you snuffed the flame both you and the Firekeeper appeared at the shrine. Don't know how it happened, but both of you were asleep, and we couldn't wake you up. Andre even hit you over the head with his helmet, but we couldn't get you to wake. Anyways, we all had our own ideas of what to do when the age of Dark started." Adrien listened intently, focusing on every word he was saying. "Andre wanted to leave, and many shared this sentiment. They said there were places much safer than the shrine to wait out the new age. I disagreed, but I wasn't going to stay there either. What we were thinking about was what to do with you and the Firekeeper. After a bit of arguing I said to just leave you both there. You had done more than all of us there, and the Firekeeper was with pretty much with you every step of the way. So Andre took everyone out of the shrine somewhere to seek shelter. I, on the other hand began wandering, lothric, Anor londo, and anywhere else I could physically go." Adrien noticed that Patches became somewhat nostalgic.

"All of those hollows and creatures that gave us so much trouble in the past didn't have a bonfire to go back to, meaning that everything I killed would be gone forever. So I went on a killing spree. Black knights, clerics, soldiers, lothric knights, It didn't matter, I searched for them all, and I killed them all. At least those that had not already been consumed by the abyss, or killed by other means. I'm not sure how long I fought, but one day I managed to get back to the ringed city, got tired, and laid down near Fillianore's church."

"So...this world, this...place, is lothric?" Patches only nodded at Adrien's question.

"Thats right, I imagine we're probably outside of the Farron Keep right now, except a few hundred feet above ground." Adrien looked down at the snowy ground pondering that fact. "Anyways when I woke up I was encased in a bunch of ash, and when I got up I found the whole city was covered in it as well. But what was most striking was the sun that was now present. I left the city and started wandering again. The rest of the world was lush and green again, and the dark had gone away. I'm still not sure when it happened, since I was asleep, but I knew for sure, the new age of fire had started, and it was bigger and brighter than it had ever been. Thats basically it, Humans must have risen out of whatever was left too, as I found human settlements by the dozens. So now we're here, In the middle of a revolution in the biggest empire this new world has seen." Patches stops, and lets Adrien process that, and the unkindled continued to look at the ground. They sat in silence for a while, before Adrien spoke up again.

"Thats what I had thought, or at least something along those lines. What now then?" Patches put a hand to his chin, and thought about that.

"Well the reason I brought you out here is because I need your help. Almost all of our world is gone now, with me, you, and one more thing being remnants of it. That last thing is what I need your help with." Adrien looked up suddenly, realizing what he said.

"Wait so Andre, and the others...? They are..."

"You'll find out once we get to our destination." Patches said, and Adrien did not press him. Honestly Adrien wanted to know, but for now he would do what Patches asks of him. Adrien took a chance look around them, and saw a small village in the distance, as well as three men in black clothes walking toward the small town. "Its not that far from here, we should go." Patches says, getting up, and ignoring the fading flame. Adrien follows suit, but soon stops when he hears a woman shouting something. He looks toward the voice, and finds that there is a large group of guards facing down the three men from earlier in front of a carriage, and the woman was at it's center with a large spear. Upon closer inspection it appeared that two of them were tall males, but the other looked to be a young boy. The guards rushed them, and the biggest man stepped forwards, and simply withdrew a large double edged axe. In one swoop, he somehow cut all of the guards in half. The girl was still standing, but Adrien could tell she was injured. The smaller boy walked up to her, and squatted down with a knife in his hand.

"Oh wow you survived that, well you'll probably wish you were dead when I'm done with you." He said surprisingly normally. She looked at him with a horrified fcae, and the large man with the axe walked toward the carriage, and forced an old blading man out of it. The old man looked fearful, both for himself, and his daughter.

"W-What, why are you doing this?" The old man asked, and the oldest of the attackers stepped forward, he had silver hair, and a finely groomed goatee. The silver haired man responded coldly.

"Because You've proven yourself a-" The sound of wind rushing interrupted him, and he sensed the presence of another in the area. Liver was a bout to tell the former prime minister Chouri his last words, but there was someone else with them now that they would probably have to deal with. He looked over to where Nyau was, to find he was no longer with the girl, but was instead flat on his back, rubbing his head, and the girl was nowhere to be found. Daidara was still behind him, his burly figure and head shifting to find the new guest. Then a knight walked from around the carriage, as if everything was normal, and the three beasts faced him, with Nyau getting up from his position. _A knight? But why is one here? He must be another guard. It should be simple enough to eliminate him._ "Hmm, it seems we missed a guard."

"N-No, I haven't seen him before, S-Spear, where are you!" The old man yelled, wanting to know the location of his daughter.

"I'm here father!" Spears voice rung out from around the carriage, and the father looked greatly relieved. The three beasts looked at each other, and then back at the knight.

"It appears that you are indeed working for the former prime minister." Liver said, his companions readying themselves. "We'll make this quick." Daidara rushed froward with his axe, Belvacc, intending to cut the knight in half. At the last minute the knight easily stepped forward past him, and rushed the other two beasts. Nyau put Scream, his flute imperial arms up to his lips, and began to play. The knight grunted in pain, but continued to approach. Much to Liver's surprise however, the knight grabbed the old prime minister off the ground, and in not wasting time, threw the man over the carriage to where his daughter was. Daidara recovered, and rushed behind the knight, attempting to strike again. The knight ducked under the attack, and proceeded to punch the burly man in the face. Daidara reeled, and backed away to the other beasts. Now they stood across from each other again. The knight was holding his head in one hand as Nyau continued to play his flute. _He's able to resist a good portion of Nyau's tune, he should be writhing in agony right now. Perhaps if he changed to the sleeping tune it would work better._ Liver's thoughts were interrupted as Nyau began to play more intensely, and the knight groaned.

 _That flute is growing annoying._ Adrien thought as he looked at the three men. The smallest one was blond haired, and was blowing into an ornate looking flute. The one in the center, and the apparent leader of the trio had silver hair, and experienced eyes. Adrien also noticed an ornate ring on his hand, and figured it to most likely be an imperial arms. Then there was the biggest one, who's oddly toned spiky brown hair and broad body gave him a tough appearance. The same burly man assaulted him with the double edged axe again. _Obviously he isn't the brightest, but as long as that flute is going, I won't be at my best. I should take care of that first._ The unkindled once again dodged the strike, and rushed for the youngest of the trio. He almost reached him, before a pillar of water slammed into his side, forcing him several feet away from his intended target. Adrien looked to Liver, and found that he was controlling the pillar with movements of his hands. Adrien was finding it difficult to move due to the flute being played, but stayed standing, ready for any other attack. The burly one charged again, but this time Adrien stuck his hand into the bottomless box, and withdrew a huge double edged axe, who's head was a jade green, and as big as his torso. Using the Axe, the unkindled slammed down one of the blades towards the assaulting man, who stopped immediately, upon seeing the shockwave in the snow the axe caused.

"Is that an imperial arms?" Daidara said warily, and Liver looked at the axe for a second, scrutinizing it.

"Perhaps, there are imperial arms that were predecessors to superior ones, perhaps this is the inferior or superior version of your own?" Liver said aloud, theorizing. The knight swung the axe again at Daidara, and he managed to doge the majority of the attack, but his chest was nicked. Liver launched sharp water spears at the knight, and he dodged it with relative ease. The knight charged at Nyau, and swung widely. Nyau was forced to stop playing as he jumped backwards. Liver was rather close, and he had to step back to avoid the wide strike. The knight swung again and again, and Nyau was unable to put his Scream, his flute to his lips again. Thankfully the weapon was slow enough that he could avoid it's strikes, but the attacks were still rather speedy considering the size of the weapon. Liver attempted to strike with his water based attacks, but the few that hit seemed to do nothing to impede the knight. Daidara came behind the knight from one side, and Liver from the other. Both of them slashed at the knights back, and he reeled, his back arching from the impact. He staggered and stoped, Nyau stopping as well in front of him. Now the three beasts had surrounded the knight, and the knight observed his new situation. "Well it seems this is your final hour, I'm sorry it came to this, perhaps you could have been a great asset to the empire if you had not gotten in our way." The knight slowly moved his head to look at liver, and he stood there, unmoving, staring, scrutinizing. The knight then flipped the axe around to where the head of the weapon was almost touching the ground.

"I should say the same." The knight then thrust the head into the ground.

Spear and her father had been hiding behind the carriage, letting the knight fight on their behalf. While she was upset she was not able to do anything about it because of her injury. Her father had found some bandages and had patched her up, but now they were listening to fight going on just around the corner. The sound of metal clanging, solid hits, water running, and the crushing of snow all indicated that a struggle was still taking place. Her father informed her that these were no mere hitmen or bandits, but instead were general Esdeath's personal bodyguards, the three beasts. They served her will even above the emperor's, and each had powerful imperial arms, signaling to spear just how out of league she was against them. Then the most unexpected thing happened, the ground started to shake and tremble. It quickly grew into an all out tremble, and they heard the ground crack and could see snow flying over their head. They dared not glace at the battle itself, lest they get caught by some missed attack.

Nyau groaned, and so did the other three beasts. The young member had not expected such an attack from the knight, and now they were all caught off guard. He had to recover quickly, or else he was going to a victim of the knight. Just as he was about to grab his flute, which had fallen on the ground next to him, and giant axe head landed in between his hand and his imperial arms. He looked to the wielder in shock, and before he could do anything else the knight grabbed his face with an armored hand. The knight lifted the boy up, and looked into his eyes.

"I honestly didn't wish for this to happen, but attacking innocents like that is not something I will stand for. Do not forget it was you that struck first." Adrien said ominously, seeing the fear in the boy's eyes. Adrien activated the dark hand, and did not hold back. Within moments of screaming, the boy's humanity was drained completely. He dropped the wrinkled and hollow looking corpse onto the ground, and the undead grabbed the flute off the ground. He felt souls enter his body, and one particular stood out, **Soul of Nyau**. The unkindled turned around to see the other men looking at him with mixed expressions. On one hand they seemed surprised at his ability, but also angry at their comrade's death. They got to their feet, and stared Adrien down, but they did not attack, simply observing what he was going to do. Daidara charged him in anger, and in response the unkindled raised the axe, and slammed it down in front of him. Daidara dodged to the side of the blade, and slashed at the unkindled, hitting his head with the man's axe. The unkindled recovered, and swung his axe again, this time catching Daidara on his right side. The man seemed to know he could have died, and so he forced himself to twist unnatural, but his arm was left where his torso once was. The arm came off cleanly, and blood stained the white snow. The man screamed in agony.

Liver watched the whole fiasco, and was growing more irritated by the moment due to the knight's unwillingness to give up. Liver drew more water from the snow around him, and formed a large pillar of it above him. He then threw the pillar towards the knight, hitting him before he could finish Daidara off. The knight dug his heels into the ground, in an attempt to stop himself from moving due to the water pressure. He kept going either way, until a large bang was heard, and he stopped, but Liver continued to use the water to press into the knight. Liver couldn't see what was behind the pillar of water, but was sure he was doing damage to him. After a while Liver tired out, and Daidara walked next to him. Both of them looked to where the knight was supposed to be, and gawked at what they saw. The knight had a large shield in front of him, it was curved to somewhat surround him. The shield had a strange spherical design on the top half of it's front, and the edges of it looked to be made of jagged cut stone. The large shield had completely blocked the majority of the attack, and now he was facing the tired, and beaten remnants of the three beasts.

Adrien rushed the last two men, and the older one attempted to stop him with more water based attacks, but he easily dodged by simply moving from side to side. The axe wielder charged again, but this time he threw the axe at the same time. The axe seemed to have a mind of it's own as it hit the unkindled, and circled around continuously to repeat the process. Adrien shield bashed the man anyways, as the strikes were not enough to stop him. The burly man was stunned, and the unkindled riposted by slamming the axe into the man's chest, first to imbed it, and the afterward hit harder, throwing his body forward, motionless. Belvacc, the axe fell to the ground, it's master defeated. Souls entered his body once again, and again one particular one stood out, **Soul of Daidara**. The older man was stunned, and unable to react as the unkindled suddenly rushed in front of him, and placed an empty armored hand on his neck.

"Why did you come out here?" The knight asked, while keeping the leader of the three beasts hostage. At first the man did not respond, instead he raised the hand that held his imperial arm. A sword of water formed, and stabbed the knight in the abdomen, the water digging deep. To Liver's surprise the knight gave no response to the attack, instead the knight put the massive shield on his back, and grabbed the finger that held the ring, and promptly ripped the same finger off. Liver cried in agony, and the knight quickly scooped the ring up, and placed it in his bottomless box. "I ask you again, why are you here?" Seeing that he was stuck here, and would probably die anyway, Liver figured he would give the victor what he wanted.

"My name is Liver, one of the three beasts, servant to General Esdeath. We were ordered to find and kill the former prime minister. He was going back to the capital to fight Honest in the courts. That is why we are here. I've given you what you want, now please, take your victory." After he answered the question Adrien looked at him for a bit, before releasing his neck, and letting him fall to the ground. Liver looked at the knight in shock.

"I have no desire to kill you..." Adrien said, as he began to pick up the imperial arms of the other beasts. "...Besides you have no imperial arms, you are injured, and you were ordered to complete this task. Go, live you life how you want." Adrien then walked around the carriage to where Spear and her father was, leaving a baffled Liver to sit there in the snow.

"Ah! Your ok!" The former prime minister Chouri said, standing to greet his savior. "Thank you, Thank you so much!" The knight nodded in acknowledgement, and looked to where spear was lying, seeing she was looking worse, despite her wounds being bandaged up.

"I recommend you get her to a doctor soon, she is looking worse." Chouri nodded.

"The villagers have agreed to help, but they wanted to wait for the battle to end first." Adrien nodded, and turned to leave. "I still intend on going back to the capital, but I must tend to my daughter first. Again, thank you." Adrien rounded the carriage, back to what was the battle field. The snow was messy, and the ground cracked where Adrien had used Earthseeker. Blood was covered on areas of the snow where the burly man had bled, and where Liver had lost his finger. However the leader of the three beasts was nowhere to be found. However Patches was looking over the battlefield, looking at the damage.

"You really need to learn to stop being so messy." Adrien scoffed at Patches's joke.

* * *

"Are you sure thats right?" Najenda asked, and Leone nodded her head.

"Yea, they make it sound like he's a regular hero. If I didn't know what he's done, I'd be entitled to agree. It looks like the general public likes this guy, so what do we do?" Najenda took a long draw from her cigarette as she considered the options. She observed the dining room her and the most of the rest of Night raid were in. Bulat and Lubbock were currently training, but aside from them, everyone else was in the room. What really caught her attention though was Mine. Her arm was shaking as she attempted to feed herself soup that Tatsumi and Akame had fixed. The sharpshooter's eyes had bags under them, her cheeks were slightly sunken in, and her hair's roots had begun to turn a dull grey as opposed to the bright pink color her hair usually was. After the fight she had with the knight, her physical condition had worsened by the day, and her ability to even wield her imperial arms had all but dissipated. She could technically still shoot pumpkin, she couldn't do so without the weapon shocking her in rejection. It was as is she was stuck between being compatible, and not being compatible. "I say we take him out." Leone said, looking at her teammate struggle to feed herself.

Akame attempted to help by scooping up some soup with her own spoon, and presenting it to Mine, but the pink haired member of Night raid quickly moved her head back.

"I don't need your help! I can feed myself." Mine said stubbornly, and tried harder to get her own spoonful to her mouth, only for her to drop it in the soup itself. She grumbled angrily, and saw that Akame still had her spoon out to her. Akame's expression had not changed from it's usual emotionlessness. Reluctantly, Mine accepted the spoon into her mouth, and as embarrassing as it was, none of her teammates thought any less of her.

Najenda then observed that Tatsumi had an angry expression on his face, and while most would say he was angry at the knight, Najenda could tell it was anger at himself. _He probably blames himself because he was trying to recruit the man, while valiant, his efforts were for naught. Theres no way thats happening now._ Najenda thought to herself, and finally decided what to do about Adrien. At that moment both Bulat and Lubbock entered the room. They noticed how Akame had to help Mine eat, and they tried to ignore it. Najenda notice their discomfort, and addressed them happily.

"Ah! Good to see your both done, now, I believe I have something I need to discuss with all of you." At her words, the rest of Night raid looked to her. "I assume you've all heard of Esdeath's return to the capital?" At her words Night raid nodded, with Leone snarling slightly. "Yes, While she was meant to be in the north much longer, we must now deal with her trying to track us down and take us out. With Sheele gone, and Mine having difficulty using her imperial arms we're much weaker than before. So the question is what the next step is, and personally I think its obvious." She paused allowing Night raid to process what she's said. "We're going to eliminate Adrien." Their reaction's were immediate. Bulat and Akame's eyes widened slightly, Lubbock and Tatsumi both seemed surprised, while Mine and Leone looked ecstatic about the news. "The best way to move forward is to eliminate easy targets, and none would be as easy as the knight. He has no formal affiliation or alliance with the empire, he is often isolated, alone, and has no known companions other than a blind servant, and a guard that we can monitor before hand. While he does now possess Extase, we know his arsenal. At least we know a good portion I'm sure. A straight sword, shield, some kind of repeating crossbow, a spiked whip, and Extase. He possesses great physical strength, reaction time, speed, durability, and agility, but he's proven to have trouble when dealing with multiple opponents. As such I will be assigning two of you to take him out, specifically Akame and Bulat."

"What!?" Mine shouted offended. "Why them? I was there when me and Sheele fought him, I should be the one to finish him!" Najenda considered her for a second, and then responded cooly.

"Because your injured, and you cannot properly use your imperial arms. As such you be assigned as Akame and Bulat's backup." Her words caused Mine's eyes to widen, before Bulat placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at the tall male, and he smiled at her.

"Don't worry, we feel just as strongly as you do, we're not going to let him get away." Bluat's words, while few, gave Mine a great deal of comfort. Akame simply nodded, her straight black hair swaying a bit.

"Exactly, for the foreseeable future our goal is to eliminate Adrien before he gets any closer to the empire and becomes an even greater threat." At that the rest of Night raid nodded. "Now, Leone, has there been any news regarding the knights current location?" Leone smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.

"Hehe, about that..." Najenda raised an eyebrow.

* * *

"Excuse me, Ms Firekeeper?" The sound of Sheele's voice caught the attention of the Firekeeper, and she moved from her place at the dining table, repairing the unkindled's armor, to where the room was, having memorized the layout of the room. She slowly approached the door, and twisted the doorknob to enter. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." The Firekeeper nodded, and sat on the side of the bed, facing where Sheele's voice was coming from. "Oh, well uh...sorry, I'm kind of an airhead so if I get lost forgive me." The Firekeeper nodded again, and waited still for the first question. "Well, how did Adrien get me here without anyone noticing?" The firekeeper thought for a moment, before answering.

"I believe that the Ashen one might have used sorcery to turn thou invisible, and that the Ashen one rendered thou unconscious with successive punches. The Ashen one hath not told me, but that is what I suspect based on your injuries, and the nature in which the Ashen one brought thou here." Sheele was somewhat surprised. _Invisible? Is that some kind of imperial arms? No, he was using mine though, so there was no way he could have done that. Also, what is sorcery?_ Sheele noticed that the Firekeeper was still looking at her, and while she was blind it still amazed the assassin how well she could navigate her surroundings.

"Oh, ok, so where is he now? I haven't seen him in a few days now." Sheele says, and notices that the Firekeeper seemed to frown just ever so slightly.

"I do not know, The Ashen one told me he would be gone for some time. I also do not know when he will return." The Firekeeper said, and Sheele could tell that she seemed worried, and sad, at the knight's disappearance.

"You care about him don't you?" Sheele asked suddenly, and the Firekeeper nodded subtly, but did not verbally respond. "So whats going to happen when he comes back, do you know?" the Firekeeper shook her head, and Sheele sighed. "Well, I guess I should be thankful I'm still alive...Also, why did he spare me?" The Firekeeper thought for a moment, trying to remember anything the Ashen one had told her in that regard.

"The Ashen one hath not told me why, but if I were to guess, it is because he wishes not to make enemies with thou's group." Sheele thought that was odd since the knight had openly attacked both her and Mine, but at the same time he said that he was only fighting because it was that guard they were fighting. _Maybe he isn't really bad, and he just got caught in the wrong situation._ "Is there anything else Thou dost require?" Sheele shook her head, and the Firekeeper left the room, leaving the assassin to her thoughts, and to continue to recover.

* * *

Esdeath sat at her desk reviewing multiple Dossiers of personnel that were going to arrive as members of her new team. There were also Dossiers of suitable males that matched her pre-requisites for a suitor. She had gone over those first, and had not been satisfied by any of them. The general had gone over many of the files on those that would be arriving to join her team, and was growing more and more interested in them all. The general put down the file of a Seryu Ubiquitous and picked up the next, about a character named Wave. She quickly read through it, and found the boy in the document interesting, although still not enough to satisfy her interest in a suitable mate. She sighed as she put the document with the others she had already read. There was only one more document on the table, which was labeled 'confidential'. The other files on imperial arms users were labeled 'Top Secret', which meant this last one was less classified than the others. This confused the general, before she realized who this file was on. It read one simple word: Adrien.

Esdeath smiled somewhat devilishly as she examined the front of the document, before opening it. Her blue eyes scanned the first page, describing the knight's appearance, and his weapons. While most were uninteresting, she did notice that the imperial arms Extase was listed. After the general information there was also an official guard office report made by one Seryu Ubiquitous. _Thats the same girl from the other document, interesting._ Esdeath thought to herself. Then she read the report, it was of a confrontation between two members of Night raid, and Adrien with Seryu. As she read she found herself impressed with the knight's strength, and his ability to use an imperial arms on the spot. _Now this one shows potential. Too bad theres no record of what his face looks like._ She continues on with the report, and once it finishes, she notices there are illustrations of what the knight looks like.

Normally there would be a small photo at the beginning of the document, but considering he had never sat down to take one, sketches and Illustrations would have to do. The first was a rough sketch made by Seryu herself, and depicted Adrien standing, and staring straight ahead with a few smaller sketches of specific armor pieces, or the weapons he wields. The second drawing was a professional artist's recreation of the same drawing. The third was another sketch by Seryu, only this time it depicted the knight walking alongside Seryu as they walked some street. The final was a professional Artist's depiction of the knight looking over his shoulder slightly, at the viewer, with his sword and shield. His cloak obscured most of the lower plates of his armor as the artist depicted it billowing over as his body seemed to wist in the direction of the viewer. Esdeath had to give the artist credit, in that stance, the knight was quite intimidating.

She put the file down, but did not set it with the others, instead she pulled open a drawer, and stuck it inside. _I'm keeping that file_. A knock interrupted her thoughts. She frowned slightly, as she had hoped not to be disturbed. She got up, and opened the door, only to find Liver there, with his right hand covered in a large bandage. She also noticed the distinct lack of the other three beasts.

"Liver?" Esdeath asked her subordinate in a growingly annoyed tone.

"General Esdeath, I have news of our mission to eliminate the former Prime minister. Esdeath's face turned sour.

* * *

"...And thats basically what Firearms are." Patches finished his explanation of Firearms, and looked to Adrien, who had continued to look forward to where Patches had been leading him. The terrain had grown increasingly hard to navigate because of the snowstorm that had set in, but it did not really bother either of them. "We're almost there, not long now." They kept walking through the snow, with Patches leading them.

"Do you have a spare? They sound quite useful." Adrien asked, and patches nodded, before handing the unkindled a small pistol, it had four barrels, and was rather short. Adrien looked confused, as he had previously been told by Patches that most pistols had one barrel.

"Ah, thats an older model, and whiles it might not be as efficient as the newer ones, this one packs much more of a punch." After Patch's explanation, Adrien nodded, before pocketing the pistol. After a little while longer, Adrien chanced another question.

"So how do you know this is the new age of fire? I have not seen any bonfires, and I have not encountered any proper magic users."

"A lot can be forgotten in so much time chum, as for the bonfires? I have no idea, I haven't even seen any that used to be in certain locations. I figure that whatever made those things probably didn't survive the age of dark, or the bonfires just sorta appear when they need to. Either way I don't really think either of those matter as much as the fact that the sun is out in full force, at least until the night comes. Don't worry about too much, now if I'm not mistaken...Ah! Here it is." Patches says, looking at the entrance into a cave on the side of a hill. The cave was almost devoid of any snow, and the interior was a pitch black. Adrien looked into it, and saw nothing. Patches walked up next to him, and had a serious expression on his face. "We weren't the only ones that survived the dark." As if on cue an older male's scream was heard from the cave, as if it travelled a long distance, signaling how deep the cave must go. The scream itself was less of one of horror or malice, but more one of pain and desperation. "Well...Perhaps survived is a bit strong."

* * *

 **Author's notes.**

 **Another chapter! Alright after this one, I'm going to be working on my other fic blessings of God, but I'm glad I got another chapter done. Now... TO THE COMMENTS!**

 **To: Bloodborne**

 **No...I think I answered that question. :)**

 **To: Anonymous**

 **Yes! Most definitely! But I can't spoil what he used at what point. Thanks for the compliment!**

 **Thats actually about it, but thank you everyone for the feedback! If you have any constructive criticism on my writing, don't be afraid to say something! I'm aways looking to better myself! I also appreciate the high praise of my fic as a whole. It really keeps my spirits up. :) Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7-Soul of the Distraught

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the distraught**

Esdeath had just finished 'interrogating' Liver of the formerly three beasts. After reprimanding him for not only allowing the other two beasts to fall, but also for allowing all three of their imperial arms to fall into this unknown knight's hands. At first she had thought that it could have been Adrien, given the skill and speed, but none of the weapons this knight used matched anything she knew Adrien possessed. She had also shown the pictures of Adrien to Liver, and he did not recognize the armor Adrien used. Instead he described the new knight's armor as regal, and well kept. The complete opposite of the armor Adrien wore.

Now the general in question was walking from the dungeon to where her office was with a contemplative look on her face. Her high heels made loud clacking sounds as they carried her through the hall. _If this new knight is truly that powerful, then perhaps it would be best to find and recruit the Adrien character first. Its kind of ironic, the knight that has killed my beasts has the most regal looking armor, and the one that has defended an imperial guard has the most ominous and threatening armor. Appropriate really._ Esdeath mused, and continued down the hall. As she was still waiting on her team members to arrive, she didn't have a lot to do. Then an Idea hit her. _What if I went out, and looked for that Adrien character myself? Yes, that would be very amusing._ She adorned a wicked smile on her face as she took a sharp right, and headed towards the entrance to the capital palace.

As she continued to walk, out of a hallway a certain blond, spiky haired general walked into view. He was very muscular, and large golden gauntlets on his wrists, and heavy looking grey armor with a red cape. Esdeath stopped and looked at the taller man with an unimpressed expression while wondering what he was doing. The general faced her, and while his mere appearance would intimidate most, to general Esdeath, it was something she saw too often to even be affected anymore. While she respected him because of his strength, she knew she was stronger.

"Budo? Is there something you need?" She asked as she put a hand on her hip, looking at the other general expectedly. Budo at first didn't say anything, but instead observed har, and noticed where she was heading. _Looks like she's going out for a while, before she goes I must confront her._ Budo thought, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I heard about your three beasts, and you have my sympathy. But was it necessary to do all that to Liver? From what I heard, he barely stood a chance." Hearing this caused Esdeath to question just where he heard it from, but dropped it, figuring he would have found out anyway.

"If he was weak enough to lose against a knight we know nothing about, then he deserved his fate. To that extent they all were. They were useful for a while, but it would seem that their defeat has rooted out the weak and revealed an even stronger opponent. Whoever this new knight is, I theorize he is connected to the Adrien Character I have no doubt you've heard about." Esdeath said coldly, before her lips curved into a smile while thinking about the knight, for whatever reason she had grown very interested in finding out more about Adrien.

"I see, well, yes I've heard of him. I figured you would have sought him out for one reason or another, and your only leaving the palace by now? Has the emperor kept you that busy?" He asked incredulously, looking at the blue haired general. To his question she sighed, and closed her eyes.

"To a degree yes, I've been gathering as much information as possible on night raid, as well as I've been preparing for the arrival of my new team. So yes, I've been a bit busy." Budo nodded, remembering everything the prime minister has asked of her, and remembering how she had requested for a new team of imperial arms users. He had been personally responsible for Wave and Bol's re-assignment. "Now I'm going to go out, see the capital, and perhaps locate Adrien. If I can, I will be sure to bring him back to me. After all he does posses the imperial arms Extase."

"Well, thats all I wanted to talk about, so you are free to go." After saying this, Budo left the blue haired beauty on her own. Esdeath watched Budo leave, before continuing on towards the exit. _Alright, so where's the best place to get some ice cream?_

* * *

Sheele shakily go to her feet off of the bed, with the Firekeeper helping her. While she did it rather slowly, she managed to stand, and when the Firekeeper let go of her, she could stand on her own. Sheele still had many bandages on her, but the few that had been around her legs were gone, and so were some of the bandages that had encompassed her right arm. Her glasses gripped tightly to her face as she looked at the Firekeeper with thankfulness.

"Your really kind, aren't you?" Sheele asked, and the Firekeeper was somewhat taken aback, before looking away slightly out of embarrassment. "your also very modest. Adrien is lucky to have someone like you watching his back."

"No." The Firekeeper simply stated, before turning her head in the direction of the assassin. "It is I who is the 'lucky' one. If it was not for the Ashen one, I would not be who I am today. I owe very much to the Ashen one. He has done great things that I do not think Thou couldst understand." Sheele seemed confused, but decided not to press her. Sheele decided to try to walk on her own. She began to walk carefully to the door, and managed to get into the living room area, with the Firekeeper there if she needed support. Once the assassin reached the couch she sat down, a little tired from walking after just laying down for several days.

"I think I'll be fully recovered soon." Sheele said hopefully, and looked at the bandages on her arms, thinking she would be able to take them off soon.

"Yes, let us hope so. If thou attempted to return to thou's friends, It would be very likely that you were caught by the authorities." The Firekeeper noted, and Sheele nodded, knowing that the blond haired woman was right.

"So, is that whats going to happen? That Adrien guy is going to return me to night raid?" The Firekeeper was silent for a second, and Sheele waited patiently for a response.

"I am not sure, but if the Ashen one has kept you alive, I am sure there is a reason behind it." Sheele nodded, understanding that there was no way to know unless the Firekeeper was actually told. The Firekeeper in question got up, and sat by the table in the small dining room. Atop of the table was the armor Adrien had worn when Sheele had fought him, and the assassin remembered that the Firekeeper was tasked with repairing it. She wondered how on earth a blind woman was meant to do that until she saw the Firekeeper take a small bit of powder from a bag on the table, and sprinkle it on the armor. The burn marks on the armor from Mine's weapon were fading, and the cape seemed to be fusing itself back together from where she had cut it off during the fight. _That must be really useful, I wonder if she has anymore powder like that._ Sheele thought as she watched the Firekeeper work. As she did this, she looked to see there was no food made other than what she had been eating for the past couple of days. She had also noticed that the Firekeeper never ate or drank in front of her. It was a bit strange, and normally she wouldn't notice things like this, but being in an unfamiliar environment, and injured, has made Sheele a little more observant than normal.

Sheele thought about her predicament, and then a thought suddenly occurred to her. _I'm no more useless than normal, at least before I had Extase, but I don't think Adrien would let me have that back. Which means...Which means that I'm..._ Sheele hung her head low, a new melancholic air surrounded her. _I'm completely useless._

* * *

"So why'd you attack the three beasts?" Patches asked, looking to his right where Adrien was walking alongside him. "I thought you weren't trying to get on the empire's bad side?"

"I'm not, but I wasn't wearing the same armor I usually have, and from what you said, I couldn't simply sit by." Adrien responded plainly, and patches nodded in understanding. They had been walking through the cave for a long time now, perhaps even a full day. "How did you discover this cavern?"

"I made it...I could feel his presence underneath, so I dug, and over the years I managed to reach him." Patches said, looking at the walls of the cave. Adrien looked at him strangely, and was about to ask who 'He' was before the unkindled noticed black tendrils were snaking along the walls, trying to reach where they had come from, but were far far from it. "Its the abyss, what little was left of it from our time is here, and has corrupted him." As he said that they reached the end of the cave as it opened up into a large cavern which seemed to be completely closed off with the exception of the hole where the unkindled and patches had just emerged from. The ground of the cavern was a slightly glowing dark blue, similar to Midir's cave. Looking at the rest of it, the only other thing in the cavern was a large hulking form sitting in the center. It's muscled back was turned to them. Adrien could tell it was human based off the shape, but it was nearly as large as Vort, or the Dancer. Sensing their presence, the being turned it's head to look behind it, over it's left shoulder. Adrien froze upon seeing that the being's face was Andre's "Andre, along with the others were corrupted, and now I need your help to free them." Patches said, but Adrien stared at Andre, his eyes never drifting.

The blacksmith's body was now a dark blue, and while it was still very muscular, Adrien could tell the abyss was corrupting his body. Andre's right arm seemed to be fine, by the left arm was no longer there, replaced by a much skinnier arm, inappropriately sized for him. Andre wore what looked like a pyromancy crown, and long dark robes were attached around his waist. His eyes glowed a bright white, and his white hair and beard contrasted with his dark blue face. The unmistakable power of the abyss was radiating off of him, not as powerfully as other opponents corrupted by the abyss, but it was still very evident Andre had been consumed by the Abyss. Whatever was left of him was now only presence in appearance alone.

"I'm sorry chum, but I didn't have the heart to tell you, so I decided to show you instead." Adrien nodded, before reaching into his bottomless box. Suddenly the elite knight armor was replaced by ornate slim plate armor with dark blue cloth that served as a scarf of sorts. The helmet of this armor was nothing more than an armored hood with the metal plate on the top made to point downward, giving him a very intimidating appearance. The inside of the hood was unseeable as a darkness completely covered Adrien's face, obscuring him in the dark. As he withdrew his hand from the bottomless box, he brought with it a steel ultra great sword, and a large knife which he wielded in his left hand. "Huh, That armor with That sword. I almost feel like I should be offended." Patches said amused, but saw that Adrien was staring at Andre. While he couldn't see his face, Patches could tell there was a determined air about him. After only a moment, the unkindled stepped forward, ready to face his friend.

* * *

In the training area of Night raid's hideout, Mine struggled to lift a weight that Najenda had given her after she couldn't lift the previous one. The pink haired assassin groaned as her muscles screamed in protest against her efforts. Lubbock was watching her with pity, and as much as Mine hated it, she couldn't deny she did look pitiful. She tired out as she lifted the weight to her shoulder before putting it down while puffing out air.

"Alright, thats enough." Najenda said, and grabbed the weight Mine had just used. "Its obvious that you won't be able to handle a fight on your own. Normally I wouldn't let you go, but you deserve your revenge, and I fear pumpkin might be one of the few weapons that could effectively take him out." At this both Lubbock and Mine look at their leader curiously.

"What? Are you kidding? Akame could kill that guy with a scratch." Lubbock said confidently.

"Yea, and Bulat's armor can turn invisible, unless he can see things that are invisible, theres no way he can win. Especially against both him and Akame." Mine said, looking at Najenda incredulously. Najenda sighed, and looked at the two members with a serious expression.

"But Adrien has proven himself proficient both with and without weapons. If Akame were to engage him, its safe to assume she would not be able to land a hit immediately, especially with the armor he wears. He has also proven to process extreme strength, speed, and durability. He took an entire salvo from Pumpkin and remain standing." after she said that, Mine looked down in shame, as ever since that happened she thought that she could have killed him if she had been able to put more power into her shots. "Needless to say, its not a stretch to say that he might have a way to deal with invisible opponents. If push comes to shove, and your up to it, one powerful shot from pumpkin could take him out, even with that armor he's wearing." After Najenda finished, Mine looked down a her hands, and clinched her fists in determination, while Lubbock sighed, wishing he could go too. Then Leone suddenly came in from the door to the interior and saw the scene with a mournful smile.

"Hey guys, hows it going?" She asked, trying to be as cheerful as possible. As she approached Najenda gave her a similar smile.

"Not that bad, have you found where Adrien is hiding out?" Najenda asked, and Leone looked down a bit, and her smile faltered.

"Sorta, we haven't found out where he's been hiding out in the capital itself, but we've heard from witnesses they saw a knight leave the capital going northward with some kind of mercenary. That was a couple of days ago, they haven't been seen since." After Leone said that Najenda seemed a little surprised.

"I see, then we wait, and set a trap for him. He has to return at some point. You said he was with a mercenary when he left, but when he's been out, he's been seen with a woman. Unless she died or something of the sort, I imagine he'll be back." The other members nodded, with determined expressions on their faces, eager to get revenge for their fallen team member. "So go inform Akame and Bulat, they will need to know as well." Leone nodded, and left to go do so. Mine looked over at the wall of the training area where there were multiple wooden weapons that they would use to train with. Mine wanted to use them and train with Najenda or Bulat, or someone, but she knew that because of her weakened sate, she couldn't

"Don't worry Mine, we'll take him out. He's our main target right now, and nothings going to stop us from accomplishing our goal." Lubbock said confidently, and Mine was a bit surprised at the words from the green haired pervert. She nodded, and looked down contemplatively. Remembering what she said the night Sheele died, and how vehemently she vowed to kill that knight. _I won't fail, I will succeed, for Sheele, for everyone._ Mine thought, as Najenda and Lubbock left to have dinner for the night.

Tatsumi looked out into the Training area at Mine, and her contemplative form. She seemed deep in thought, and the newest member of Night raid had no interest in bothering her. He turned back, and headed back inside, but not before he was stopped by Bulat. His large frame and swirled jet black hair making it obvious who it was that stopped him.

"Bulat? Whats wrong?" Tatsumi asked, and the incursio user looked down at him, and then over Tatsumi's shoulder where he could see Mine sitting, thinking. Bulat let a gentle smile adorn his face, and turned to Tatsumi.

"Nothings wrong with me, I've come to ask you whats wrong. You've been really distant lately, and you haven't been eating as much. Why?" Bulat asked, and Tatsumi looked away at the wall of the hallway. The newest assassin sighed, before looking back up at Bulat.

"Its my fault. Its all my fault, maybe If I hadn't of been so adamant about getting Adrien on our side, maybe...maybe Sheele would still be here, and Mine wouldn't be in this situation. If...If..." Tatsumi began to choke on his words, and Bulat could tell he was feeling very strongly about all of this. Bulat simply sighed and put a hand on the shorter man's shoulder.

"Listen, Tatsumi, Sheele and Mine would never let something that keep them from fighting to their fullest. Mine's like this because that bastard beat both of them. That's no one's fault. Not yours, not Mines, not anyone's. So for now focus on the job at hand." Tatsumi's eyes widened at his superior's words, before he nodded determinedly. "Good, now why don't you go help Akame make some dinner?" Tatsumi chucked a bit at Bulat's sudden change in topic, but nodded anyway.

"Yea, that sounds like a good Idea." After Tatsumi left Bulat, the older man looked down at his clenched fist, anger boiling in his mind. _That bastard will pay. I swear it._ Bulat thought, and while normally he wouldn't think this way, it was different now, and he could allow himself a moment of this, as he wouldn't get it during the inevitable fight. He will need to be completely focused on eliminating Adrien.

* * *

Adrien watched as Andre stood up from his position and turned to them, revealing a rather plain chest. Several layers of the robes on his front side were a faded golden color in contrast to the near black that the rest of the robes were. He let out an angry cry as the unkindled approached. Adrien simply kept walking, until Andre's eyes suddenly started to glow a bright white, before two white beams suddenly appeared from them, aimed straight at Adrien. The undead dodged to the side, but Patches, who was still behind him, brought up his shield to block. The beams erupted in a force-like spell, and pushed Patches all the way back to the entrance of the cavern. Adrien dashed forward and once he was upon Andre sliced at the burly man's chest, the slice going from the top of his sternum to his nether area. Black smoke wisped off of the wound, and elicited a grunt of pain from Andre. The gash was large, but black tendrils appeared from either side of the inside of the wound, and closed the gash up. In response, Adrien quickly backed away. Andre raised his right fist, stepped froward a few times, and slammed his hand down, intending to crush the unkindled. Adrien rolled out of the way, and stabbed his sword toward Andre's hand. While it obviously didn't do as much as the other attack, Adrien was going to get what he could. Andre brought his hand up, and attempted the same move. Once again Adrien dodged the move by easily back stepping. Before he could attack again, Patches suddenly came from the side, and struck Andre's right side with his splitleaf great sword, the halberd slicing through Abyssal Andre.

While He could tell it did damage, Adrien could see no smoke off of Patches wound, indicating that his results were from the use of the Farron great sword against an abyssal enemy. Andre retaliated by facing patches, and with his skinnier left hand letting out a stream of fire. The pyromancy had little effect as Patches raised his shield to block the fire. Adrien ran forward, and once in range, he dug the knife in his left hand into the ground, and used it to pivot himself into a wide swing with the Farron great sword. The ultra great sword sliced through Andre's legs, and the Abyss corrupted blacksmith howled from the intense attack. Adrien did not let up as he swung in the opposite direction, still using the knife as an anchor. The second attack struck Andre right as the large man turned to him, slashing across the front of his knees. Finally Adrien reared back, and while releasing the knife from the ground, swung backwards, jumped while performing a small spin, and brought the sword down upon Andre. The devastating hit struck Andre across the face, and all the way down the chest. Before Andre could retaliate Patches brought the splitleaf great sword in both of his hands, spun it around once or twice, before jumping forward with the weapon while slashing, using the momentum from the spinning to deal even more damage. This did not stop Andre from quickly backhanding Adrien while Patches attacked however. Adrien was knocked back, but was far from out of the fight. Andre tried to backhand Patches, but he brought his shield up to block the strike. He strained from the impact, but stayed strong. Adrien rushed behind Andre, and slashed the corrupted blacksmith's back several times. Andre turned his attention to Adrien, and the unkindled dodged attacks that were sent his way. Whether it would be Pyromancy, or just strong punches from his right hand, Andre wasn't able to land any good hist on Adrien. Any damage to the unkindled was mostly done from nicks or flames he had expected to be out. Patches would then attack Andre's back while Adrien distracted him. Patches and Adrien exchanged the roles of attacker and distracter for a while. Even though Andre's attacks were not losing speed or strength, the speed of his 'healing' was decreasing, indicating his weakening state.

Then, appearing to have enough Andre let out a mighty roar, forcing abyssal anergy to radiate from him, striking both Adrien and Patches, neither one of them expecting the attack. Adrien slammed his right hand into the ground, and retrieved a large hammer from the very floor they were standing on. It was similar to his old blacksmith hammer, but the back was curved slightly, appearing like a wide hook. Andre's left hand was engulfed in black flames, and it stayed like that, the black fire draping across most of his shoulder as well as his entire arm. Andre faced Adrien with the hammer he that had just emerged over his shoulder. He brought his flaming hand over to his mouth, where it covered it for a brief second before bright light emerged from the gaps in his skinny fingers. When he released his hand, a soul stream spell was suddenly expelled from his mouth. Adrien rolled out of the way just as the powerful sorcery reached his area. The large beam of bright blue soul energy left blueish burns on the dark ground where Adrien once stood.

Patches once again spun the splitleaf great sword above him and dove forward toward Andre, slashing him across his neck. The undead backed up before Andre could retaliate. Adrien ran forward, and dodged a black fireball from Andre's left hand. Adrien delivered a swift blow to Andre's chest, but as he backed away Andre rose his hammer up, twisted it to where the hook end was facing his front and dove forward toward Adrien. His whole body rocketed forward while his right arm swung his hammer in front of him to catch Adrien. The Unkindled had not expected this level of speed from the previously slow adversary. The hook struck Adrien's left side as he was swung into the air, the hook holding onto him. Patches could only watch as his friend was lifted above Andre's head. Andre's left hand sent a small steam of fire to the hammer, which began to flare with black flames. Adrien did not feel anything from it, until Andre brought the hammer down in front of him with incredible speed, with a mighty explosion of black flame from the impact. The smoke from the fire littered the area as Andre brought his hammer back to him, with Adrien absent from it. Patches held an unnecessary breath as he watched the smoke cloud.

Before Andre could attempt to strike again, the smoke was suddenly dispersed with the sound of metal clanging, revealing Adrien, standing, with his left arm outstretched and crushing something. While he had the same armor and weapons, his apparel seemed to give of orange embers and sparks of flame at random, and the dark blue scarf seemed to be on fire in a few areas.

"I will free them." Adrien said darkly. He flung himself at Andre with renewed vigor, and Dove his sword into the abomination's chest. Andre let loose a painful howl as he attempted to strike Adrien with the flat side of his hammer. Patches ran forward and struck Andre several times on his left side as Adrien quickly removed his sword, and dove under Andre's legs. Surprisingly, the robes simply waved by as Adrien appeared behind Andre. Patches blocked two strikes from the hammer with his shield before he was forced to back away from the abomination. Adrien used this opportunity to once again anchor himself with his knife, and deliver several powerful slashes with his sword. Andre used his left hand to backhand Adrien several meters back. Patches ran forward, and at the same time so did Adrien. Andre faced Adrien and brought his hammer up. One wide slash from Patches to the back of his legs made the blacksmith stagger, long enough fro Adrien to jump high, and bright the sword he was using down straight into Andre's mouth. The sword sliced his cheeks apart, and the blade began burning his abyssal body from the inside out, indicated by the large plumes of black smoke coming from his throat. Adrien attempted to grab Adrien with his hands, but patches ran up to the left arm, and sliced at it, severing the skinny appendage. The tendrils were too weak to bring the arm back as it fell to the ground limply. Adrien sliced at the right hand with the knife in his left, but while wound wasn't healing, it was clear the limb was going to at least going to knock him off. Patches however acted quickly, and severed a good portion of the appendage, making it fall limply against Andre's side.

Adrien looked at Andre in his glowing eyes, he could tell he was weakening. The dark blue legs and robes of Andres began to dissolve away into black smoke, as his arms did the same. Soon it seemed as though the body Adrien was on was sinking into the ground as the body dissolved underneath him. Adrien soon saw that the ground was close enough to stand on, and did so. As Andre continued to disappear the sword that was embedded in his now dissolved throat was revealed. Soon Andre's head dissolved away, leaving Adrien staring at the place where it once was. He felt an enormous number of souls enter his body, but the ones that stood out fused themselves with his very being. _Cronyx, Irene, Karla, Orbek, Yuria, Andre. Thank you, maybe now you can be at peace, knowing that your souls are safe with me._ Adrien thought as he continued looking down at his sword. Patches laid a hand on his shoulder, signaling he felt the same way. They stood there in silence, not noticing the abyssal tendrils around them slowly dissolving, being reduced to nothing, revealing the grey stone walls of the cavern around them.

* * *

"Is there still no sign of him?" Akame asked Bulat as they overlooked the path Adrien was last seen going down. The light of the afternoon provided perfect vision, and given there were almost no guards in the area, they should be pretty well hidden. She had been watching over this entrance from a rooftop not too far away, while Bulat had been using Incusio to scout the path, and see if Adrien was heading their way or not. Bulat had just returned, but Akame kept her crimson eyes on the path.

"Still none, Mine hasn't seen anything either. We've been scouting this place for nearly two days, and theres still been no sign of him." Bulat said with a bit of concern. Mine has also been watching the path, but she had to stay in the forest surrounding the path because of her health, and being unable to climb like she used to. Akame narrowed her eyes, looking at the path.

"It may not be today, but he will come back, we just need to be patient." Akame said confidently, and Bulat nodded.

"I know, but this still concerns me a bit that it could be some kind of trap." Bulat said, looking at the path with Akame. "We need to be careful, no matter what kind of situation we find ourselves in." Akame nodded at Bulat's statement. If this Adrien could really possess such power, then they can't afford to reckless. _Especially with Mine in the condition she's in, we need to be on guard._ Akame thought, and gripped her sword tightly while it was on her hip. _Sheele wouldn't want us to throw away our lives, we need to win, for her, for Mine, for everyone._ Bulat stepped forward from behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder. They both stood there, observing the surrounding area of the forest, the path, and the few buildings not too far away from the one they were on. Both of them preparing for the fight that would not be too far away.

* * *

Esdeath walked down the streets confidently, and many looked toward her, most of them becoming wary, or outright scared from the general's presence, but there were a few ignorant souls that stared at her beauty. Currently she was walking from an ice cream establishment where she had sensed a pair of eyes on her, undoubtedly Night raid was scouting her, but she was not concerned in the slightest. Now she was headed toward where sources think Adrien could be hiding out. If she found his hiding spot then she would confront him, and make him a part of her team, but it was questionable whether she could actually find him. _He seems to be very capable in laying low at the very least._ Esdeath thinks to herself. _However there is the matter of the companion he is with. That 'Firekeeper' as the file says, perhaps I can locate her, and then locate Adrien? But then again, she is blind, how could she leave whatever place they are staying at, and how useful of a servant can she be in the first place? Very strange._

Esdeath was now on the outskirts to the western edge of the capital, with little idea of what Adrien's hiding spot could look like. She looked and saw there was a small river that was flowing in front of her, separating the main street from the forested area. A wooden bridge was nestled over the river, allowing passage, and Esdeath had a nagging feeling that this was an important area. Perhaps her Imperial arms knew something she did not? Or maybe it was her own gut, either way nothing of interest was here now. Esdeath began to turn back, as the late afternoon sun shined down on the capital, unaware that Adrien's hideout was only the next street over.

* * *

"So now what are you going to do?" Adrien asks Patches as they approach the path they had first come down a couple of days ago. The Unkindled had switched from his previous armor and weapon to the Farram set of armor and the lothric sword with the grass crest shield. The bulky furred armor wasn't his most inconspicuous, but it didn't really matter, as now that he was embered, anything he put on would look like it was on fire. Adrien had attempted to control and dull the orange flames that occasionally dotted his armor, but did not get far with results. _Perhaps I shouldn't have embered at all._ Adrien thought.

"Me? I think you should focus more on what your going to do chum. You've got ninety percent of the power that was left over from our time all inside of you. If you weren't tough before, you certainly are now." Patches said confidently, and he was right. With the souls of the shrine goers inside of him, and fused to his very being, his magic will be much more powerful than before. Adrien looked at his friend from underneath the farram helm, obscuring his facial features with the tight fitting helm. He brought his hand up, and let the pyromancy flame appear before him. It was the same color and shape as before, but Adrien couldn't help but feel as though there was a new power to it that did not exist there before.

"I will go back to the capital, and finish up some business with one of the Night Raid members." Adrien answered simply, and patches nodded in understanding. Evening had set upon the land by the time they had left the cave, indicating it might not have taken as long to leave as it did to enter, nevertheless, now they had to go their separate ways.

"Figured you'd say that, I've got some stuff the revolutionaries want me to do. Judging from what it is, I'm sure I'll be right at home." Adrien looked at patches curiously, as he was still somewhat perturbed that Patches would take actual work from someone. Lately, since Patches had met with him, Adrien has been much more sympathetic to the revolutionary army's goals. Especially since they align with his own so well. This was even more reason to avoid conflict with Night Raid, as he would inadvertently shooting himself in the foot, sort to speak. "Just don't forget about that pistol I gave you. I think you might find it to be very useful in the future." Adrien nodded, remembering the firearm Patches had given to him a day or so prior. Patches then headed down the path, in the opposite direction of the capital. "so long Chum, I'll see you again soon." At that he soon left earshot, leaving Adrien to stare at his friend's back as he left.

Adrien looked down the path in the direction of the capital, the forest on either side still being covered in snow. He walked out, onto the path, before venturing to the capital, with a renewed spirit, but at the same time a still mournful one.

Several hours had passed since Patches and Adrien parted ways, and now the unkindled was starting to see less snow, and it was being replaced by more regular forest. Several more hours went by, and now he could see several farms around him, indicating he was approaching the outskirts of the capital. His embered form provided some light for Adrien, but it was largely unnecessary, as the moon was bright enough to see all around him. The sound of nature and his own footsteps were the only noises that he could hear around him as he reached another section of the path that was surrounded by forest. His thoughts went to various different places, most of which were about what he should do with regard to Night Raid, and trying to eliminate the Darkness within the empire. _Night raid could prove to be useful, but they could also wind up getting in the way. Considering what I've done, I doubt they'd ever consider doing what I want to do. But If I can deliver Sheele to them, unharmed, then perhaps I could at least get them off my back._ Adrien thought as he walked.

Two miles up the road that Adrien was walking, Akame was atop the same rooftop as before, and was beginning to tire from constantly surveying this area and several others where Adrien might appear. The sounds of rushing footsteps caught her attention as Bulat was rushing across the rooftops to her location. She looked at him curiously as the moonlight reflected off of his armor somewhat.

"Akame, he's coming." Akame's tiredness was suddenly dispelled from her being as a new sense of determination made its way inside of her. She nodded curtly, and leaped off the rooftop with Bulat, eager to catch her prey.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Another one bites the dust, I hope you guys didn't mind waiting a bit while I updated my other story. I do have a bit of an announcement, There is a discord server I've joined where there are a lot of writers and stuff. So yea heres the link:**

 **[ discord. gg/xEApPAS ]**

 **I'm really glad you guys are still enjoying the story so far. Now there weren't many anonymous reviewers, but if like I've done in the past if there are reviewers that have a relevant question that hasn't been answered in the story itself I will place them in the authors notes. So anyway, thats about all I need to say, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8-Soul of the Confrontational

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Souls or Akame ga kiru**

 **Soul of the Confrontational**

Adrien continued on his trek to the capital, and continued to mull over what stance he wanted to take in all of this. While normally he would want to stay neutral, the fact that the prime minister was the one mostly responsible for the empire's corruption, and subsequently, the agitation of the dark, the unkindled was somewhat torn. _At the moment, I should focus on delivering Sheele, then I will take the next course of action._ He thought as he continued his trek, then he noticed a figure in the road approaching him, and given the slender figure, and long hair he assumed it to be a girl. He stopped, wondering why she was approaching, but she kept walking forward. Then he noticed the weapon in her hand, slightly off to the side, and unsheathed, barley reflecting the light of the moon due to the shade of the trees. Even still, he could tell from it's shape it was a katana.

He put his hand on the sword on his hip as the woman continued to approach, she noticed this, and stopped. She looked straight at him with a pair of crimson eyes. _I see_ Adrien thought to himself. _There is only one person I've met here that looks like her._ Once this realization dawned on him, an invisible force slammed into his left side, forcing him into the forest, his farram armor not doing much to null the force of impact.

* * *

 **(A few minutes earlier)**

"Are you sure thats him Mine? Thats not the kind of armor he wore." Bulat questioned as he looked through a small eyeglass at the target as he walked down the road.

"I'm sure, thats the same sword he had when me and Sheele fought him. I'm sure of it." Mine responded, looking through the detachable scope for her weapon. Bulat looked away and looked at Akame, who was simply staring intently at their target, her crimson eyes not wandering for a second.

"Akame?" Bulat asked, and the assassin in question looked at him and nodded. _I guess that settles it, thats him._ Normally he would still be cautious at starting a fight with an unknown enemy, but if both Mine and Akame said it was him, then who was he to argue. At least they had actually seen the man. "Alright, now its time for our plan of attack." Bulat said, and the female assassins nodded, determined to succeed in this mission.

* * *

 **(Present time)**

Bulat shoved Adrien into the forest to the right side of the path, and into the forest. The plan had worked spectacularly, and now he had the knight at his mercy. Bulat's imperial arms, Incursio, surrounded his body, the tight fitting armor gave the man many benefits, including increased strength, durability, speed, and his trump card, which allowed him to turn invisible for a short period. A skill he had just used to catch the knight off guard. The knight seemed mostly unresponsive as Bulat continued to push him deeper into the forest, clipping several trees, the bark easily breaking off from the force of the push. Bulat saw a tree in front of him, and stopped abruptly, allowing Adrien to continue for several meters before slamming into the tree ahead of them, causing the whole plant to vibrate violently.

Bulat knew this was not the end, and quickly withdrew the large red spear that came with the Incursio armor, and charged the knight before he had a chance to get up. Adrien did not have an opportunity to block the spear as it barreled toward him, and impaled him where he sat. Bulat raised the spear, with Adrien still on the end, and flung him at another tree, making the pant shake, but not as violently as the first.

 _Impressive._ Adrien mused to himself. _Using Akame as a distraction, and then blindsiding me. If it had not been for that abrupt stop, I would have stopped that push myself._ Adrien easily got up, as if nothing had even happened, surprising the member of night raid. _That actually did a bit of damage, however I have survived much worse. I don't recognize this member, I assume he is apart of Night raid considering he is with Akame, but still. He has blatantly attacked me, and as much as I sympathize with Night raid thanks to Patches, I am not in the mood to fight._

"Want some more do ya?" Bulat teased, and rushed forward again, in the same way as before. Adrien just stood there, but he had taken is weapons out, his straight sword in his right hand, and his shield in his left. _Why is he just standing there? Also...Is he on fire?_ Bulat thought as he neared. Right as he was about to hit, Adrien flung his shield over his torso, and moved it outwards with force, knocking Bulat's spear away with a mighty clang. _What?_ were Bulat's thoughts as Adrien swiftly sheathed his sword, and slammed his right fist into Bulat's gut, causing him to keel over, right before a mighty fist met the assassin's face, causing him to be knocked back nearly a full person's length away. _He...He could have killed me, so why?_

"Leave, and tell your companion to do the same, I do not feel like fighting anymore tonight. I have already been through too much recently." Adrien's cool voice brought Bulat out of his stupor, and the assassin righted himself while he readied his spear.

"I'm sorry, but your our target, we can't let you leave alive." Bulat said ominously, and Adrien stared at the assassin for a moment, before sighing. _Those flames, those don't seem natural._ Bulat thought to himself. _What could those mean?_

"I see, then that is too bad. I hope you know I have no intention of holding back." Adrien's words sent a shiver down Bulat's spine as he faced the knight. Adrien readied his shield and sword, and Bulat steeled himself. Adrien slowly circled around the assassin, and he in turn circled the knight. They were walking counter clockwise to each other, but once Adrien was at a certain point in the invisible circle, he began walking backwards.

"Oh no you don't!" Bulat exclaimed. He still needed to at least wear the knight down before the others joined the fight. He rushed the knight, and attempted a wide swing at Adrien, but the man kept his shield up, and the spear hit against it with a metal clang, and Adrien responded in kind by slicing at Bulat three times. Bulat was expecting the knight to be fast, but not to such a degree. He was struck three times buy the sword, the sword dug into the metal plate on Bulat's chest provided by Incursio, protecting him. The mostly grey and white scheme was somewhat interrupted as the sword nicked Bulat's less protected mid-section, and caused some blood to start leaking from the wound.

Adrien began walking backwards again, attempting to gain more distance between them. _H-How? Thats just a normal sword right?_ Bulat thought to himself as he looked at the wound on his abs. _Its not as protective as the plate on my chest, but this should still be able to stop steel. Unless...he's just that strong._ Bulat became much more wary, but followed him nonetheless. Adrien said nothing as he led the assassin away.

* * *

"So can you cook?" Sheele asked the Firekeeper as she watched the blonde lady brush the cloak of the armor she had repaired. The Firekeeper did not reply immediately to the assassin that was still sitting on the couch not far away.

"I can not. I have never had the opportunity to do so." The Firekeeper responded simply.

"Do you do this for Adrien often?" The Firekeeper stopped briefly, before picking up a small towel, as she began to rub down the armor itself.

"I have never had a chance to do such tasks for the Ashen one, however now that we are here, I hath found myself to be more useful to the Ashen one than I used to be." Sheele smiled solemnly at her answer. _At least she's useful to the people that she knows._ Sheele thought, and she could feel tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes. However before the water works had a chance to start, the firekeeper spoke up again. "Would you like to help me?" Sheele looked toward the blonde lady in surprise, and carefully got up from the couch.

"May I?" Sheele asked as she slowly approached the table where the Firekeeper had the armor sitting. The lady was currently cleaning the helmet, the cloth slowly gathering up what appeared to be a small layer of ash. The Firekeeper simply nodded as Sheele sat down, and took the brush in her hand. She grabs a portion of the cloak, most of the green cloth seemed rather clean, but there were stains and small rips in the fabric that were rather irreparable. Nevertheless she began to brush the fabric. She remembered trying to clean and do laundry at the headquarters. She would always mess something up, wether it be washing them too long, suing too much soap, or any number of wrongs that often resulted in accidentally ruining clothes.

She gently brushed the fabric, and tried her best to be gentle, and managed to incite a bit of dust off the cloak. She continued to brush the cloth, and more dust come off the cloak. The firekeeper seems to be able to tell what she's doing, and smiles a bit. She carefully wipes the cloth over the visor of the helmet, and Sheele notices how gentle she's being with the metal, even though it was highly doubtful the slender lady could harm the armor.

 _Please return safely._ The Firekeeper thinks to herself. She often hoped that the Ashen one would always return without harm, but she knew that such a prospect was nearly impossible. She felt the contours of the helmet and wished silently that the ashen one was still here. Before she could muse any longer, the doorknob started to twitch.

* * *

Adrien had made his way out of the forest, and to a small clearing next to a river, which was on the edge of the city. There was a bridge that allowed passage over the river, as well as a large tree that was right next to the river that had small pink leaves on it's branches. Houses were scattered on the other side of the river, while on Adrien's side all that was there was forest, and the clearing he was now in. Bulat soon found Adrien, and faced the knight in clearing. Adrien looked at the outskirts of the city, before facing Bulat, who had been behind him. Bulat approached him, and Adrien stood his ground with his shield raised. The armored assassin stabbed at Adrien several times, hoping to find an opening, or hit a weak point. However each time, Adrien skillfully placed his shield in the way each time, never letting Bulat get a hit in.

Adrien noted that this assassin's strength was notably higher than any other opponent he's faced here so far. _It must be that armor he's wearing an Imperial arms if I were to guess. I imagine it might be quite useful._ Adrien thought, as he blocked a particularly powerful attack from the assassin. As the Night raid member backed up a step, Adrien lunged forward and began repeatedly swinging the Lothric knight straight sword. The assassin was able to block the strikes with his spear, but Adrien could tell he was struggling against the power behind the blows. Adrien quickly put his shield on his back, dual wielded the sword, and dipped his sword downwards slightly as he quickly stepped forward.

Bulat knew what was coming next, so he swiftly angled his guard downward as Adrien thrust his sword upward with such power it broke his guard. Bulat was stunned, and was unprepared for when Adrien then thrust his sword into Bulat's chest plate. _He could have easily thrust through my stomach, why did he change his target?_ Bulat thought as the sword imbedded itself into the plate. Using the leverage, Adrien forced Bulat onto his back. Adrien continued to push, his sword sparking every once in a while as it was forced through the armor. Bulat brought his hands onto Adrien's shoulders to try to push him off, but was met with an even stronger downward force. He was slowing him down, but not stopping him. _At this rate, he'll force that sword through my chest plate. Why is he focusing on my strongest areas?_ Bulat worriedly thought. The sword was getting dangerously close to actually piercing through the plate. Out of nowhere though, a foot landed a solid kick to the side of Adrien's helmet, and forced him off of Bulat. The sword was still stuck in Bulat's chest plate, and the assassin promptly removed it quickly, and threw the sword far away, near the forest.

Akame landed in between where Adrien landed, and where Bulat was lying down. Both armored individuals looked to see the crimson eyed assassin as she stood ready. Bulat rose from his position, and walked over to Akame, nodding to her. Akame nodded as well, but did not remove her gaze from Adrien.

"Sorry I'm late." Akame said simply, and Bulat chuckled a bit. "Are you alright Bulat?"

"Not your fault, I hadn't expected him to lead me here. I'm more worried about Mine." Bulat said a little quieter, making sure Adrien could not hear them. "Also, yea, I'll survive."

"I feel the same, hopefully she can make it here safely." Akame also said quietly. Akame scrutinized Adrien as he stood there with his shield held in both of his hands. He was presumably unarmed, but he was supposed to have Extase. _Why does he not use it? Also, he has embers emanating from his body, I doubt that is something natural._ She thought to herself. Adrien glanced over to where his sword was thrown, and begins shifting towards it while keeping Night raid in front of him. "Be careful, Bulat."

"Don't let him get his sword back." Bulat said quickly, and rushed the knight, with Akame following quickly. Adrien didn't react immediately, but as both of them jumped up, and were about to strike, thinking he would block their attacks, he instead rolled forward between them both. They landed, and turned around attempting to catch Adrien as he perhaps tried to counter attack, but when they did, he was picking up his sword from the ground. "Damn." Bulat cursed. Adrien faced both of them, and started to approach the two assassins. Akame rushed first, and Adrien stared at her as she swiftly approached. She appeared to strike at his shield, but stepped to his right just in time for Bulat to take her place, his spear striking heavily against Adrien's shield.

Akame attempted to use the distraction to find a kink in his armor, and saw that his legs seemed less protected than his upper body. She went for a strike as Adrien continued to beat back Bulat's attacks. Adrien noticed her approaching from the right, and while blocking Bulat with his shield, used his sword to block Akame's attack towards him. Akame grunted under the force of the block against her sword.

"Hey! Focus on me!" Bulat yelled and while keeping his spear against Adrien's shield, and used his left hand to punch Adrien right in the gullet, spun the knight around, and flung him toward the river. Adrien hit the pink leaved tree with a mighty thud, and small petite pink leaves fell from the plant around the knight. He slowly got back up, and now seemed more interested in his opponents.

"I must admit." Adrien began, and got the assassin's attention. "I said I wouldn't hold back, but I suppose that was a lie, its time to stop going easy on you both. You obviously don't deserve it." He reached into the box on his hip, and before Bulat's and Akame's eyes his armor was instantly replaced by another, different set. This set of armor was mostly a silver grey, and had very broad shoulders. The helmet appeared to be a large head-encompassing metal mask, with a stoic expression, and covered a small portion of his frontal chest. His gauntlets were thick and burly, but his chest piece and gauntlets did not cover his pale elbows, leaving them exposed. The sides of his hips were covered with some plates of metal, and there was a tattered cloth that formed a sort of veil over a good portion of the back of his legs. The legs themselves had plates of metal on the front sides. All of the metal portions of the armor were covered in ornate designs, and all in all it was a very impressive suit of armor. Once he retrieved his hand from the box he now had a large wide bladed halberd with similar designs as the ones on the armor. "Prepare yourselves."

* * *

Sheele quickly hid behind the couch in order to hopefully surprise the ones that were attempting to enter. The Firekeeper remained at the table, and listened to the doorknob continue to twitch, until it finally clicked, allowing the door to open. Once open, it revealed a man, roughly in his thirties with a large scraggly mustache. He was hunched over slightly, and had a focused expression, before it faltered a bit when he saw the Firekeeper. She was simply sitting there, listening, waiting.

"Well? Anyone there?" A voice called from behind the mustached man. The man sighed as he opened the door wider to allow three other men visual on the room.

"Just a blind woman." The other men chucked a bit, before the mustached man stood up to full height. He walked forward into the room, toward the Firekeeper, his expression never faltering from it's stoic form. Once he was close, the firekeeper, who was still sitting down at the table, tilted her head upwards. "Don't worry, as long as you don't yell, we don't hurt you." The Firekeeper remained silent as the thieves entered, and looked around the room. The youngest looking of them had a plain, clean shaven face, but also had a distinctive red bandana on his head. The next oldest also had a shaved face, but there were a few grey hairs beginning to peak through his otherwise raven black hair. The last thief was the ugliest, with an awkwardly angled face, and a crooked smile, only solidified by his thin mustache. The door was close by the youngest behind them, covering their entrance.

"Aww, but what if we wanted to have some fun?" The ugliest one said sadistically while practically licking his chops at the blind maiden.

"She's quite a beauty." The youngest one said while seeming to scrutinize the Firekeeper's appearance. "Wouldn't mind taking her for a spin before we leave the place." The eldest with the mustache looked at the two with a disapproving gaze.

"I'll let you have the next one, this lady is blind, she can't defend herself." The eldest said In earnest.

"You said that the last time old man." The youngest retorted. "When are you gonna give us some leeway?" The eldest closed his eyes in thought.

"Besides, her being blind is a good thing isn't it? Its not like she can tell anyone what we look like." The ugliest said, trying to sound reasonable. The eldest grumbled, before the second eldest spoke up.

"Just let them have their fun, its not gonna hurt anything." At their companion's words, the young and ugly ones smiled victoriously. The eldest relented, and nodded. As the two eager beavers approached their prey, the eldest looked to the table, where a large green cloth was covering something rather lumpy looking. He reached out his hand to move the cloth, but before it reached a petite hand placed itself on the edge of the fabric that he was about to move.

"Please don't touch the ashen one's belongings." The lady said cooly, and her voice surprised the four thieves. The second oldest preoccupied himself with going into the kitchen to look for valuables, not noticing Sheele behind the couch as he passed.

"Oh? And are you going to stop me?" The eldest threatened, and the Firekeeper remained silent for a moment. She thought about how to best approach the situation, but knew, above everything else, she could not let them take the ashen one's property. Before she could respond, the young sounding one grabbed her wrist that was against the cloth, and forced it away.

"Hey, don't worry about all that." The young one said, sounding quite handsome in retrospect. "Just worry about me for now." He said as he dragged her up and out of the chair, and could feel the eldest was reaching for the cloth again.

"Hey, make sure I get a turn alright." The ugly sounding one said, and the Firekeeper could somewhat feel the trepidation in his voice. The sound of a cloth being moved could be heard, and the Firekeeper knew the eldest had discovered the Ashen one's armor. The Firekeeper attempted to free herself, but the grip on her wrist became stronger.

"Whoa." The eldest said, seeing the armor. Sheele gritted her teeth seeing all of this, and unable to do anything about it. If she had a weapon, she might have a chance, but she was still recovering. The Firekeeper was doing little to resist, but its not like she could do much anyway. She noticed that the eldest was holding a piece of armor, and looking at it with a bit of scrutiny. The Firekeeper struggled more upon hearing the armor rattle a bit, and managed to release the youngest's grip of her.

"Slow down there, we don't want to hurt-" The young man's reassuring words were interrupted by the Firekeeper swiftly drawing a dagger from behind her, and clumsily stabbed the man in the neck. Blood from the wound swiftly decorated the dagger, the man, and the Firekeeper. _Even when he's not here._ The Firekeeper thought, thinking back to when the Ashen one had given her the dagger on their first day in this new world. _He still protecteth me._ The young man staggered back as the Firekeeper withdrew the weapon, and the other thieves stared at her wide eyed.

"What the fuck!" The ugly one shouted quickly backing away from the blind woman.

"Firekeeper!" Sheele shouted, standing up from behind the couch, once again shocking the thieves. "Throw it to me!" The Firekeeper said nothing as she tossed the knife in the direction of Sheele's voice.

Her aim was off, but Sheele caught the bloody dagger nonetheless. She rushed the second oldest man, who was still in the kitchen, and before he could withdraw his own dagger, a large cut was made on his neck, blood spewing from it, and decorated the kitchen cabinets and counter tops in a crimson red. She winced a bit from the pain of moving so quickly, and could feel some of her wounds re-open.

"Sorry." Sheele said out of habit. Sheele then darted toward the ugliest one, who had been frantically running toward the door, before a dagger was implanted in his back. "I'm sorry." Sheele withdrew the weapon, and turned on the eldest, only to find him with the blade of an axe against the Firekeeper's neck.

"Stop right there, or I'll kill her!" He said with determination, but also with a tinge of fear in his voice. Sheele froze, but had a cold expression on her face. "Now, I'm going to leave here, and your going to stay there while I leave. Sheele, from Night Raid." The mention of her name shocked Sheele a bit, but it didn't last. "I heard you were dead, never knew you'd be hiding out with some blonde chick." It was true, according to the newspapers published after the incident with her and Mine, she was declared dead. Now she couldn't let him leave, or else this place would be swarming with guards. The eldest began to circle slightly toward the door, but Sheele simply stood there. In a blink Sheele raised her hand and threw the dagger at the man, the weapon imbedding itself into the skull of the thief. He dropped, allowing the Firekeeper to walk freely.

"Sorry." Sheele said as the blood pooled from the man's wound.

"Thank you." The Firekeeper simply said, and Sheele smiled warmly at her. Suddenly a gunshot permeated the room as Sheele suddenly staggered a bit, a new circular wound now in her abdomen. The ugly one had survived, and now had a handgun in his hand, aimed right at Sheele.

"Not so tough now, are you bitch?" The ugly one said angrily, but also triumphantly. Then he pointed the gun at the Firekeeper. "And your nex-" He was interrupted as a black metal helmet slammed into his face, courtesy of the Firekeeper. "You bit-" He was interrupted again as Sheele overcame the pain she was feeling, and grabbed the pistol he had, and pistol whipped him the temple. She did this several more times, leaving a large, bloody, rectangular indention in his head. Sheele then collapsed on the ground, blood continuing to pour from her wound. _This is the end._ She thought bitterly. _This is how I die...At least It was while I was being useful. Everyone, please, Forgive me. I wanted to come back, but please don't blame Adrien, or the Firekeeper, their good people at heart._ Sheele's thoughts drifted to nothingness as she closed her eyes, and allowed the Darkness to swallow her whole.

* * *

Adrien rushed the two assassins right as he felt some souls enter his body from not too far away. His halberd was underneath his arm as he rushed, a firm resolution to end this fight in his mind. Akame and Bulat also rushed, with Bulat on Adrien's left, and Akame on his right. They swiftly met each other, and Adrien attempted to thrust froward at Bulat. The Assassin blocked the attack with his spear, but the halberd pushed him back several steps. Akame attempted to slice at Adrien's vulnerable elbow, but he was too fast, and simply moved out of the way of both assassins. Swiftly he pivoted his halberd into a large arc, and struck Bulat's right shoulder. Akame was about to rush, but the halberd continued it's arc to try and hit her, but she back stepped away from the weapon. Bulat's pauldren now had a noticeable gash in it, and his arm was shaking a bit from the force of the strike.

 _He's strong. That must be his imperial arms. Its like Bulat's._ Akame thought simply as she dashed forward to engage the halberd wielding knight. Adrien brought the weapon up slightly, and slammed it down, attempting to strike the assassin, but she managed to dodge it. Adrien did this a second time, but with much more force, causing the ground around the impact to break slightly. Akame was forced back, and Adrien thrusted with the weapon, keeping the katana wielder at a safe distance. Bulat attempted to blindside the knight, but Adrien acred his halberd in a swing toward the armored assassin.

Bulat blocked this attack with the pole part of his spear, but the halberd pushed him to the side slightly. Bulat quickly readied his spear and thrust forward, with Adrien doing something similar with his halberd. The two engaged in a battle of spear and pole arm, neither one of them able to outdo each other's range. Akame got behind Adrien, and aimed for a strike at his right elbow as the arm handled the halberd he wielded. As she swiftly approached, Adrien realized she was going to strike. He planted his feet firmly, and moved his halberd backward with force, as Akame neared. The butt end of his halberd struck Akame's mid section, the speed of the weapon something she had not expected. The wind was knocked out of her lungs as she was forced back, the strike making her body rag-doll backwards several meters before she stopped on the ground.

"Akame!" Bulat yelled, and surged forward, cocking his left hand back, and swung a mighty punch at Adrien. The Knight in front of him did the same, and their fists met halfway, a mighty shockwave erupting, but there was no stalemate. Adrien's fist almost instantly overpowered Bulat's own, and it continued forward until it struck Bulat's face, the right side of his helmet cracking heavily as he was sent back several paces. _Damn!_ Bulat thought as pain racked his head. _Thats...His strength? He could easily be on par with Budo or maybe even..._ His thoughts were interrupted by Adrien turning away from him, and walking toward Akame, who was shakily getting up from the surprise attack. _no...No! Not again!_ Bulat got up as fast as his body would let him.

Akame's stomach racked with pain as she coughed and wheezed. _That probably broke a few ribs._ She thought, wincing in pain as she struggled to right herself. She looked over to the two armored individuals only to find Adrien walking toward her, the metal mask's expression unchanging. Bulat was lying on the ground on the other side of Adrien, his helmet looked as if it had been shattered by some kind of impact on the right side of his face. Adrien's halberd was raised high, and looked ready to come down on her, she attempted to move, but she had not yet recovered from the force of the impact, and her lungs struggled to provide oxygen for her body as her heart rate increased dramatically. She still had Murasame in her hand, but it would take too long for her trump card to fully take effect before she met her end. The halberd came down, and she felt a strong force push her away.

Adrien was thankful he had chosen Gundyr's set and weapon. The heavy armor could protect him well, and the halberd would let him keep a good distance from his enemies. He was about to finish off the assassin Akame, and while he did not necessarily want to it, his patience had run thin, and he was going to send Night raid a message. As his halberd came down Bulat pushed Akame out of the way, but had gotten in the way of the strike himself. The blade hit Bulat's right shoulder, and the force of the impact severed the assassin's arm from the rest of his body. The helmet that was heavily cracked now broke apart and allowed Adrien to see Bulat's face. Bulat's scream was loud and guttural, and would make any normal person's insides churn. Adrien was not a normal person, so he had no reaction to the scream as he lifted the now blood-covered halberd from the wound. Blood poured from Bulat's shoulder and severed arm, while Akame watched, unable to help.

Bulat clutched his bloody shoulder, in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Akame rose quickly, recognizing the kind of situation they were now in. Adrien faced her, and began to walk forward, his ominous footsteps doing more to intimidate her than Esdeath herself. _I just need one scratch._ She thought to herself, as she assumed a defensive stance. Bulat looked at her, the exposed right side of his face looking at her with a face that read: 'Don't worry about me, run.' She wouldn't listen to him. She dashed forward and Adrien swung the halberd in an arc, but Akame skillfully dove under the attack, and passed the knight, but not before grabbing a golden flask off his belt.

Bulat was a little shocked at Akame's action, but he told himself that he shouldn't be. Akame handed him the golden flask she had stolen. _A golden flask...just like the one Tatsumi had told us about._ Bulat though, his mind briefly remembering the abilities of the golden drink. He quickly gulped down the liquid, and the bleeding stopped nigh immediately. He was still light headed though, his body had been through too much, and he had lost a lot of blood. Akame stood straight, and faced Adrien as he observed the two of them.

 _Taking the estus drink instead of going for a direct attack? Clever girl._ Adrien thought contemplatively. He began to approach both of them again, and Akame rushed the knight. Adrien attempted to catch the assassin with a slam of his halberd, but she dodged to his left. He tried again. Putting some more speed and power into his attack, but she managed to skillfully dodge the attack. She rose her katana and attempted to strike his left elbow, but he moved the butt of his halberd to meet the blade, stopping it in it's tracks. She attacked again, and was met with a portion of the pole-arm near the blade. She attempted to get through his guard with more attacks, and each time he easily blocked the strikes with the halberd. _At this rate, she will tire herself out, she must realize she won't land a hit on me._

Mine made her way through the forest at a slow rate, her weakened body and her large imperial arms on her back making it difficult to move fast. _I need to get there fast._ She thought to herself as she made her way to where she had heard occasional yells and the clanging of metal on metal. She knew they had not managed to stay in the forest, as was the plan, but at least she might be able to get an even clearer shot on the man. Soon she found herself on looking at a clearing with her companions and a man in strange looking armor. _That must be Adrien._ She though distastefully, and then she noticed Bulat lying on the ground, without a right arm, and Akame, who was fighting Adrien and not gaining any ground. She stayed in the forest, just able to see the fight taking place. She wanted to help, but she couldn't get a clean shot on Adrien. Akame was pushed back away from Adrien, as well as away from a river not too far away.

Akame hissed in pain, her chest still ached and whenever she would attack, Adrien would block her with such strength, it was like she was hitting brick wall, quickly making her hands sore while holding Murasame. _If something doesn't change soon, both me and Bulat will be dead._ Akame thought as she glanced at Bulat, who could only watch the fight, and looked angry because of that fact. He was reaching with his still attached left hand towards his severed right, where his spear was still being held. Adrien seemed to noticed this, and he looked between both Akame and Bulat. He looked to charge with his halberd, before Akame dashed froward with a huge burst of speed. Adrien realized this, and struck out with his halberd, shifting the blade to where it was sticking out to his right, instead of pointing straight down like normal. Akame continued forward, and she struck.

Her speed made the actual attack unseeable to the naked eye, and grey liquid was sprayed from a new wound on Adrien's exposed arm. She landed several meters past him, and almost immediately fell to a knee, clutching her side. While she had managed to hit him, Adrien's halberd now had a bit of crimson liquid on the edge of the blade. Akame's side now sported a new large gash. Bulat was shocked, but also very happy. _She did it. We won._ He thought ceremoniously.

"Poison?" Adrien asked while looking at his elbow where she had struck. Akame and Bulat both looked at the knight, they had expected him to stay standing given his strength, but it sounded as if he had found out something, and it disappointed him. "So this is why you are the one-shot killer. Disappointing." At his words Akame's, Bulat's and even Mine's jaws dropped. Adrien faced Bulat, and Slowly approached him. Bulat expected the knight to come charging, bust instead his stride was slow and purposefully slow. Akame attempted to move, but her wound prevented her from doing more than just shifting so she could see the scene. "Now, I hope you understand, I didn't want this to happen." Adrien says softly. "I'm sorry, but I guess you didn't expect me to survive the strike from Akame." Adrien turned his head to look at the crimson eyed assassin briefly, before shifting his gaze back to the Incusio user. Fearing for his life, Mine reacted.

"SURVIVE THIS MOTHERFUCKER!" Mine exclaimed loudly as she revealed herself right behind bulat, with pumpkin raised, a large light emitting from the tip. Lightning was striking violently against her from the same weapon, but she ignored it. One particular bolt struck the side of her head, and caused a trail of blood to trickle down her cheek. The light at the tip of Mine's weapon turned into a wide laser beam that struck Adrien's chest dead center. Adrien was forced back, but managed to force his halberd into the ground, and he held his footing. He stood stationary while the laser pounded against him. _An...Impressive attack._ Adrien thought, as he figured it would end soon, but he felt his chest heat up more and more, before he felt the laser push past his armor, his chest, his insides, before it exited the back of his body, going straight through him. The beam continued, and struck the side of a house across the river, obliterating the corner of the building. The attack ended, and Mine was forced to drop a smoking, broken pumpkin. She looked on at Adrien, specifically at the large scorched hole in his chest that she could see right through. _Very...Impressive._ Adrien fell to a knee, and observed his surroundings, Akame was also on a knee, but was looking at him with wide crimson eyes, Bulat had been awestruck by the attack, and while he wasn't dead, he most likely would be later because of all the attacks he had endured. Finally Mine, the one who had killed him, stood there, glaring at him as his body slowly dissipated, leaving nothing but a floating green orb with a blood stain underneath.

Mine stared at the location Adrien had been, and collapsed. She thought about Bulat, and Akame and the condition they were in. Hopefully Akame could get back to the hideout, but as for her and Bulat, she didn't know if either of them would survive. She could feel the soft grass beneath her, and she could somewhat see shapes approaching her, and her name being called. However, she couldn't focus on them, and soon, she let the Darkness at the edge of her vision encompass her.

* * *

"Stay with me Bulat!" Leone cried as she carried both him and Mine on her back. Incursio was now in it's sword from, and hung off of his hip, the imperial arms making a slight tinkling sound as she ran. Mine's weapon pumpkin, or what was left of it, was held by Lubbock, who had Akame on his back. Bulat groaned in pain. _Damn it!_ Leone thought. _Even with my enhanced strength, its hard to carry both him and Mine at the same time. We need to get there fast. Bulat had to collapse right as we got there too._ "Tatsumi! Anyone following us?" She yelled to the rookie following both her and Lubbock.

"No one so far!" Tatsumi called back, and Leone let a small sigh escape from her lips. _Good, at least we have that going for us._ Leone thought to herself as they continued toward their hideout.

Thirty minuets passed with nothing significant happening, and once they reached the hideout, Najenda was waiting for them. She directed them toward an impromptu medical ward where they set Akame, Bulat, and Mine down, and began to properly fix up their wounds. Akame was the easiest to fix as all she had in terms of injuries was a large gash on her side, and major bruising on her chest and abdomen. Mine had a lot of burns, and scorches from Pumpkin, but nothing too serious, the main problem was that she was so weak from whatever Adrien had done to her that her body couldn't handle much more, and she fell unconcious. Bulat however, was different. Not only was he missing an arm, he face and chest had major bruising, cuts also adorned his abdomen, and he had lost a lot of blood to the point his non-bruised skin was a sickly white.

Lubbock was sewing Bulat's arm back on, taking advantage of the fact that his imperial arms could essentially repair lost limbs, but even after he had done this, Bulat did not wake up. Akame was still conscious, and wanted to help, but Najenda had ordered her to rest. Mine was now stable, and Leone thinks she might wake up soon.

"Lets hope so." Najenda said, looking at the Assassin group's resident sniper. Her gaze then shifted to Bulat, who's face was swollen and bruised, and had a trickle of blood going down his mouth. "Lets hope they all wake up." The conscious assassins nodded, and Tatsumi stared at the two of them in contemplation. Najenda put a hand on his shoulder. "They knew that something like this could happen, and at the very least Adrien is out of the way." At her words Tatsumi seemed to calm a bit, as did the others, except for Akame. Najenda looked at the red-eyed-killer, who was staring at the floor. "Akame, is something wrong?" At first she didn't say anything, but then she looked up to her, and gave Najenda a response that genuinely surprised the veteran leader.

"Murasame didn't kill him."

* * *

A familiar feeling greeted Adrien as he raised his head to see his new surroundings. It was the hotel room him and the Firekeeper shared, now though, the room was different. There were the bodies of four dead men on the ground around the room, and Sheele was on the couch with new bandages on her torso. The Firekeeper was right next to him, standing next to the unconscious Sheele. _It appears my suspicion was correct._ Adrien thought as he looked toward the Firekeeper.

"Ashen one?" The Firekeeper asked curiously, looking toward where she knew the unkindled was standing. Adrien looked over to the table where his armor was sitting, repaired. He walked over to it, and put the fallen knight armor in his bottomless box, before immediately equipping it. He stepped back over to the Firekeeper, who was looking at him expectantly.

"What happened here?" Adrien asked the Firekeeper, and she looked down where Sheele was resting.

"Four thieves broke in, and Sheele disposed of them, but she was hurt during the fray." The Firekeeper responded, and Adrien looked down at the wounded assassin. She looked just as bad as the first time he had brought her here. Adrien nodded in understanding, before he gently lifted her up, and put the estus flask to her lips, and let her drink it. A golden light briefly erupted from her, and he shook her out of her sleep.

"H-Huh? What happened?" Sheele asked no one in particular, her eyes were unfocused, but that soon changed when she saw Adrien. Her eyes went as wide as saucers, and she looked as if she was about to say something else, but Adrien stopped her.

"Get up, we're leaving." Adrien told the assassin, and he got up, headed over to a drawer, and got out a large dark blue sheet, and tossed it over to Sheele, who caught it. Sheele was a little confused on several things. Like "how did she recover so quickly?" or "Why are we leaving all of a sudden?" but one that really boggled her mind was "how did I get hurt again?"

* * *

"What do you think it is?" Asked a city guard to another who was standing next to him.

"Have no Idea, looks kinda freaky." Said the other guard. They were both looking at a strange green glowing orb that no one seemed to be able to touch. They, along with several other guards had been called to investigate a disturbance when the corner of a house was apparently blown off by a 'laser beam.' Come to find out, the ridiculous report was founded because when the first guard got there, and saw the damage, they went back for backup immediately.

"Maybe its an imperial arms?" The first one asked and the second one just shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever it is, its not our biggest concern." A new voice said, it was a young and relatively innocent sounding voice, but at the moment had a sort of seriousness about it. The two guards turned to see Seryu Ubiquitous looking at the glowing orb along side them, with Koro, her faithful dog, on a leash in front of her. "Lets investigate the rest of the area, I think whatever may have happened here may have something to do with Night raid." The two soldiers nodded, and dispersed. Other soldiers were guarding the area off, while others were taking samples of the blood found on several areas of the area. Another was examining a noticeable indention in the cherry blossom tree next to the river. Seryu had a gut feeling that whatever happened here involves night Raid, which was oddly appropriate considering she was meant to show up for some kind of meeting within the capital's palace the next day. Dr. Stylish had also been invited, and it had something to do with General Esdeath forming a team, but she wasn't entirely sure.

"Hey! Halt! What are you doing out this late!?" A guard shouted, getting Seryu's attention, when she looked over, she found the one the guard was shouting at, and immediately ran over. "Didn't you hear me!? What are you? Stupid!?" The guard yelled again, but Seryu tapped the guard on the shoulder.

"I'll take care of this." She said with a small smile. The soldier looked between her and the intruder, before nodding. Seryu calmly walked up to the man on the bridge. "Hi Mr. Adrien!" She said cheerily. Adrien nodded curtly to his friend, and walked across the bridge to the fight scene, followed by the imperial arms user. "So, uh what are you doing here? You know its past curfew right?"

"I know, but I left something here I must retrieve." Adrien responded, and Seryu's eyes became wide.

"You mean, you were apart of this fight?" She asked, briefly looking around the area, where evidence of a fight was still fresh, and very evident.

"I was." Adrien said as he approached the green orb on the ground. "I had encountered members of Night raid." Seryu stopped, her face full of shock. _Members? As in...multiple?_ Seryu thought with shock. She ran in front of Adrien, in between both him and the green orb.

"H-How many!?" She asked incredulously, and grabbed the attention of some of the guards. Adrien looked at Seryu's expectant, and wonder filled eyes, and considered what he should say, but decided the truth would be best.

"Three." He said simply. Seryu's eyes seemed to sparkle at his word, and she stood stationary as he walked around her to the green orb, watching him intently. He placed his hand to the top of the orb, and instantly the orb dissipated, and Adrien nodded to himself. _Three...Three Night raid members!? Thats...Thats...Amazing!_ Seryu thought to herself. _He must be...He must be as strong as...her._ Her thoughts were interrupted as Adrien approached her. "I apologize, but I must leave, I have important business to attend to." Seryu said nothing as he left into the forest, and the guard let him pass, either feeling his power, or just not caring. He waded into the forest, leaving a stunned Seryu at the scene.

* * *

Sheele walked through the forest with Adrien in tow, leading him to Night Raid's hideout. She was still a bit weak from her previous injuries, but she was a lot better thanks to whatever he had done for her while she was asleep. At first she was cautious to lead him to their hideout, but he promised her he would not harm them unless they attacked first. She told him they didn't even need to get close to the hideout to talk to their leader, and Adrien was fine with it.

The small clanks of Adrien's armor, her make-shift cloak brushing against the grass, and the rustling of the trees were the only sounds that Sheele could hear, Not even the animals seemed to be present in the area. She was growing increasingly nervous, partly from the anticipation of meeting her friends again, partly for how they would react to her leading Adrien to their hideout, but mostly because Adrien had been silent for nearly the whole trip, only speaking when spoken to. Soon they made it to the edge of her hideout's territory, and she only needed to look for a few moments, before she found a near invisible string on the ground. She bent down, and gently picked it a few times, like it was a guitar. She stepped over to a clearing beyond the sting, and stood there, while Adrien stepped over the string, and looked about for others.

"So, your leader will come?" Adrien asked, and Sheele looked in the direction where the main hideout was, before nodding. "good, stay there." She did as she was told, and she heard strange sound behind her, when she turned around, she saw that a bush was now in Adrien's place. Not questioning what was going on, she decided to simply stand there and wait.

* * *

"Guys." Lubbock said eerily, as he got his companion's attention. "Someone just plucked on my strings. They're at the edge of our territory, and they don't seem to be moving." Everyone's eyes became hard, except for Tatsumi, who seemed a bit confused.

"I don't get it, just another intruder right?" Tatsumi asked questioningly, and Leone shook her head.

"No, a random passerby doesn't see a near invisible string on the ground, and decide to pick it like a lute. Whoever is there, knows about Lubbock's imperial arms." Leone explained, and Tatsumi's eyes widen a bit. Akame attempts to get up, but Leone stops her. "Oh no you don't, We're gonna go and investigate, you stay here." Akame was about to protest, but was interrupted.

"Leone's right." Najenda said. "Tatsumi, you stay here with Akame, and watch over Mine and Bulat. Leone, Lubbock, your with me." At her words everyone nodded, and the two assassins followed Najenda out of the room. Najenda reached into the back of her pants and retrieved a large revolver, while Leone reactivated her imperial arms, and Lubbock tightened the strings on his. They were soon off toward the source of the disturbance.

It was only several minutes before they made it to the location, it was a small clearing in the forest, with only one thing f note within it. Sheele was there, wearing a dark cloak over her, and she was looking around the clearing for signs of movement. Najenda couldn't believe it, she figured neither could Leone or Lubbock, and yet there she was. Their dead team member was supposedly here in the flesh, looking for them. This didn't seem right, but she had to know if this was really Sheele or not.

Sheele had been standing in that same spot for several minutes before she heard the bushes in front of her rustle a bit. A figure emerged from the bushes revealing a young woman with white hair, an eyepatch over her right eye, and a mechanical right arm wearing a black button up blouse.

"Najenda!" Sheele exclaimed with glee, and attempted to run froward, but Najenda rose her right arm with a large revolver in her hand that made Sheele stop.

"Are you really Sheele? Mine told me you were killed by that Knight, Adrien." Najenda began ominously. "Prove your Sheele, what did you do when you were here?" Najenda let the question hang in the air for a moment, and Sheele stared at the Night raid leader for a bit, before her expression became confused.

"But I didn't do anything at the headquarters...Did I? Maybe I forgot?" Sheele said with a bitter smile, and Najenda's expression hardened, examining the purple haired assassin for any signs of lying. After a few tense moments, her expression softened, and she sighed with a relieved smile on her face.

"Good to see you again." At Najenda's words, Leone and Lubbock revealed themselves from the brush.

"Oh man, we were really worried about you Sheele." Lubbock said while putting his hands behind his head. Leone sniffed the air, and still had a frustrated expression on her face.

"I have to ask though." Najenda began again. "How did you survive, from what Mine told us, you were more or less obliterated during your fight with Adrien." At her question, Sheele laughed nervously, witch made both Najenda and Lubbock look at her with interest.

"Well, I wasn't killed by Adrien..." She began, and she looked down a bit. "He sorta captured me." At her statement, a bush that was behind her shined with a golden light briefly before revealing itself to be Adrien.

"I knew it! I knew I could smell someone else here!" Leone said with a scowl, and clenched her fists. Najenda rose her revolver, and Lubbock readied his strings. Adrien gave no reaction, instead he just stood there, his dark green cloak flowing slightly in the wind.

"Wait! He didn't come to fight y-" Sheele was attempting to diffuse the situation, but Leone would have none of it.

"Your supposed to be dead! Who the hell are you!?" Leone shouted, and Adrien simply sighed.

"My name is Adrien, and I have come to establish a truce." At his words Leone growled. She was trying to act tough, and was trying to show he wasn't a big deal, but the truth of the matter was that she was terrified. This man was supposed to be dead, and yet here he was, he had singlehandedly fended off three of their best fighters, and was only 'killed' because he was caught off guard. Akame had informed them of the fight that had taken place, and how they had manged to 'kill' Adrien. This was all on top of her imperial arm's animal instincts telling her to run for the hills before he decides to go for her.

"A truce?" Najenda asked skeptically, as she observed the nonreactive knight. _He's a strong enemy to make, so if he doesn't want to fight, then we should take the opportunity. We already have Esdeath and Budo to deal with, the less strong people we have to worry about, the better._ Najenda contemplated, and her two subordinates looked towards her, as well as Sheele, who looked a bit worried. Slowly she lowered her gun, and glared at Adrien. _I don't like it, but we need this._ "Whats your offer." Leone and Lubbock looked shocked.

"Wait, your actually going to make a truce with this guy!? Are you crazy!?" Lubbock shouted, however, Leone was strangely quiet. Najenda sighed, and ignored Lubbock's outburst.

"I will hand over Sheele, as well as give you the ability to heal your companions in exchange for both Night Raid and the revolutionary army to stop targeting me and the Firekeeper. Do we have a deal?" Najenda was a bit surprised at Adrien's offer, as she had expected for him to make some ridiculous request in exchange for nothing. However this deal still didn't sit quite well with Najenda.

"I also want you to stop interfering with Night Raid's plans from henceforth. Is that acceptable?" Najenda countered, and Adrien remained motionless, before speaking again. Suddenly Adrien felt a large amount of souls enter his body, with one standing out. **Soul of Bulat.**

"Our plans align with each other, Najenda." Adrien said a bit ominously. "We should not have a problem with that in general." Najenda's eyes widened a bit, and her previous notions of the knight were suddenly being thrown in to question.

"What do you mean? How do your goals align with ours?" Najenda interrogated, and her other Night raid members looked at the knight with curiosity.

"It is difficult to explain, but I too seek to end the corruption of the capital." Adrien responded, and Najenda hardened her glare at the knight, before nodding once.

"Fine then, you have yourself a deal." Sheele sighed in relief, and began to walk over to her friends.

"Wait." Adrien said, and Sheele stopped, while the other members of Night raid looked at the knight with a bit of a glare. Adrien reached into his bottomless box, which immediately caused the members of Night raid to ready their weapons again. Adrien took two small black sprites out of the box, and tossed them to Leone, who caught them. "Those are for your wounded, have them crush them in their hands, and they will be fully recovered." Then Adrien faced Sheele, who looked up at the knight curiously. "You saved the Firekeeper, and as such, I want to give you something." Sheele's eyes widened a bit, as Adrien once again reached into his bottomless box. He then pulled out what none of them expected. Extase was now in his hands, and he handed it out to Sheele who was reluctant to touch the weapon, remembering the last time both her and him handled the weapon. She carefully reached her hand out, with the other members of Night raid looking on, ready to intervene just in case. She grabbed the handle of the huge pair of scissors, and Adrien let go, allowing her to fully handle the weapon. "You have my thanks, friend." At that, Adrien turned and left, leaving the assassins in a shocked sate.

* * *

 **Authors notes**

 **Phew, Almost ten thousand words! (it is ten thousand if you include this Authors note.) But I needed that many for everything I wanted in this chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I've been on vacation for nearly a week now, and I haven't had much of a chance to write. Nevertheless, I hope this extra long chapter will make up for it.**

 **Also I have a question. About Wild hunt. I haven't read the manga, so I'm not entirely sure what all their about, or their members. (not that I can't lean.) Since I only watched the anime. So should I include them by learning about what they've done in the series, or should I stay with the anime timeline? Personally I want to include Wild hunt just to give myself a bit of a challenge, but I wanted to know what you all thought. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9-Soul of the Famous

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls, or Akame ga kiru**

 **Soul of the Famous**

Mine slowly opened her eyes and bright light assaulted her vision. She groaned a bit as she got up, and rubbed her eyes. Once her eyes had adjusted, she found herself in her room, on her bed, as morning light seeped into her small abode. She winced a bit as a spike of pain surged through her right arm when she tried to move it. She looked down and saw her right arm was once again in a cast. She sighed to herself. _I'm injured again huh? Well, at least I took out that bastard._ Mine thought, smiling a bit, but then she was reminded of something, ore more accurately, someone. There was a knock on her door, and she called for the person to enter. The door opened to reveal Akame with a bandaged torso.

"Akame! Your ok." Mine says with relief, and Akame smiles a bit at seeing her friend up and conscious. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Not too long, the attack happened last night." Akame explained, and Mine nodded. "How well are you? Can you walk?" At her question Mine nodded with a bit of hesitation. "Najenda has called for a meeting, and you need to attend, theres a bit to discuss." Mine nodded, and Akame headed fro the door, but stopped. "I'm glad your ok." Akame said, looking back with a caring smile, afterwords, she left, and Mine wondered just what all needed to be discussed.

It took a few minutes for Mine to get up, and leave her room. The mirror she had in her room told her that she still looked sickly like before, but now there was a new bandage on her head. She walked toward the main hall where Najenda gathered everyone for meetings. On the way there, she saw Lubbock walking n the same direction, sensing someone behind him, the green-haired assassin turned around, and upon seeing Mine, smiled a bit.

"looks like your finally awake, having a good morning?" Lubbock asks a bit cheerily.

"I guess, my arm hurts though." Mine said, and Lubbock chuckled. "Although I guess thats expected." Although, Lubbock didn't say anymore as they headed toward the meeting. Mine looked at the assassin oddly, wondering why he wasn't teasing as much as he normally does. She ignored it, and continued onward. They reached the meeting area soon enough, but with two major differences from the last time Mine was here. Bulat was no longer present, but Sheele was. Mine stopped in her tracks, a dumbfounded expression on her face. "S-Sheele?" Mine stuttered staring at her previously dead friend.

"H-Hi Mine." Sheele said a bit cautiously as Mine approached her. The corners of Mine's eyes began to tear up.

"H-How? How are you alive? I thought you were gone." Mine said, beginning to choke on her words. The rest of Night raid looked on in sympathy, and understanding.

"Well, he actually captured me. I've been at his hideout this whole time." Sheele said, and Mine's eyes widened.

"Which is only one of the reasons why I've called you all here." Najenda explained, gaining the attention of her team. "As you all know, last night Akame, Bulat, and Mine participated in a mission to eliminate the knight known as Adrien. Originally it was thought the mission was a success." Mine's eyes widened a bit. _Thought was a success?_ Mine thought worriedly. "However Sheele appeared later at the edge of our territory here, and with her was Adrien, alive and well." Mines eyes were threatening to bulge out of her skull at those words. "Sometime during our encounter with Adrien and Sheele, Bulat died of his wounds." Mine put her hands up to her mouth, still trying to process everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. Tatsumi flinched a bit at that, and Mine noticed that the rookie had kept his head down for the entirety of the meeting so far.

"B-But But!" Mine stammered, attempting to reason with what Najenda was telling her. "I killed him! I left a hole the size of my head in his chest!" Mine retorted loudly.

"All we saw there was a weird green orb." Leone stated. "We tried to grab it, but our hands passed right through it." She said while looking at her right hand.

"See! What if the person you guys met was an imposter? You've all never seen him before right?" Mine said a bit frantically.

"That may be the case, but he was perfectly alive when we met him, Lubbock and Leone can attest to that as well." At Najenda's words, the other two assassins nodded hesitantly. "How he did this, I still don't know, but its safe to assume it has something to do with that armor imperial arms Akame described to us. Or maybe it was an imposter, but theres something else to discuss too. The Imperial arms Incursio, and Pumpkin must be addressed."

"What do you mean?" Tatsumi asked, finally speaking and lifting his head up.

"Incursio is without an owner, and Pumpkin..." Najenda reached for a black case beside her, and when she opened it up, it revealed Pumpkin, broken and battered. "Needs to be repaired. Thankfully Mine avoided completely destroying it, but it needs to be fixed." Mine nodded, understanding. While normally the sniper could keep the gun in top condition, and repair it occasionally, the kind of damage done to it now was something she could not repair. This meant Najenda would have to take Pumpkin back to the revolutionary army's home base to be properly repaired. "Now that Incursio no longer has an owner, I'm tempted to send it back to base, but theres someone here that doesn't have one to call his own." Najenda said, looking in Tatsumi's direction, and the newest member's eyes widened. "Tatsumi, I'd like you to see if you can wield Incusrio."

"W-What?" Tatsumi said, and Najenda got up, and approached him.

"If Bulat was still here, I'm sure he'd want you to use it too." Najenda placed a mechanical hand on his shoulder, and he stared at her in surprise.

"T-Thank you, but I don't think I'm ready. Bro...I'm not worthy enough." Tatsumi said while looking at the ground. Najenda sighed in a bit of disappointment.

"Alright, but tomorrow I want you to try to use it. Tatsumi, I understand how you feel, but in the kind of environment we're in, we need to keep moving, and the sooner we find out if your compatible with Incursio, the sooner you can start to master using it." Tatsumi nodded, and Najenda smiled. "Theres still one more thing." She said, and reached into the pocket of her pants, where she retrieved two small black sprites. "These were given by 'Adrien' last night when he handed over Sheele to us to heal both Mine and Bulat." She said holding them to where everyone could see them. "We didn't make it to Bulat in time, but Mine is still here." Najenda approached Mine with the sprites In hand. Mine stared at the sprites in spite, and Najenda stopped in front of her. "Its your choice, but he gave us these to heal you, in exchange we agreed to not hunt him or the firekeeper." Mines eyes observed the sprites, and then her mind realized something.

"Y-You made a deal with that son of a bitch!?" She exclaimed angrily.

"Hey we aren't happy about it either, but at least we got him off our backs too, he won't be interfering In our operations from now on." Lubbock said defensively, and Mine growled a bit.

"We aren't sure about that, but he said his goals align with ours. Like I said, its your choice if you want to use it or not, but he told us you should crush it in your hand." Najenda explained, and Mine huffed, before forcefully grabbing one of the black sprites.

"How about I just crush it on the ground!" She exclaimed, before throwing the sprite on the ground, and crushing it under her foot. None of them could blame her, so they didn't stop her, but that didn't stop their eyes from widening as the sprite crushed with a slight white glow, and caused Mine's eyes to widen as well. Mine felt her strength return in nearly an instant, her pale and slightly sunken face was fulled out instantly, returning her to her previous look, and the grey hairs at her roots were instantly turned to a vibrant pink like before. Her eyes were fuller and brighter than ever, and she widened her eyes as the cast and the bandaged on her person seemed to fall to ground by themselves. She moved her arm without pain or struggle, and the pain that once encompassed a few parts of her body were all gone.

"M-Mine y-your..." Leone said baffled by the sudden change. "Your healed."

* * *

 **One week later**

The grass flowed peacefully around both Adrien and the Firekeeper as they rested on a hillside outside of the capital, overlooking the western section. Nearly a week had passed since his deal with Night raid, and Adrien had been avoiding the Authorities ever since. Especially since the guards had been asking around for him. He did not know why they were, but he did not feel like finding out. Thankfully it was relatively easy to avoid them in the crowded streets by taking alleyways. Any thieves or miscreants that attempted to confront him wound up being victims of the Dark hand.

"Ashen one? Why dost thou hide? Hast thou committed a crime?" The Firekeeper asked as she sat on the hill, next to the Unkindled in question. She had been curious before, but only now did she find it appropriate to ask properly. Adrien did not respond immediately, but simply continued to observe the capital. He looked over to the Firekeeper, his gaze hidden behind the visor of his helmet. The Firekeeper bit into the fudge treat that Adrien had gotten for her before they had left for the hill.

"I am not sure, but I do not wish to be apprehended. I have not committed a crime, but because of all that Patches told me of this place, I am not comfortable with letting the authorities take me anywhere." Adrien responded, and the Firekeeper nodded. Although over the week Adrien had been considering what exactly the authorities wanted. He had not committed any crime, and they had only started searching for him two days after the incident with Night raid. If this was some kind of reward or something, then maybe it would be advantageous to go with them. Adrien let out an unnecessary sigh, and he got up, the Firekeeper following suit.

The two of them traveled down the hill, and approached the capital. _I guess I shall finally see what they want of me._ Adrien thought to himself as he and the Firekeeper approached the outer streets. Eventually they made it into the street their Inn was on, and two guards were patrolling the streets not too far away. They easily spotted Adrien as the knight was not attempting to hide. They made their way toward him, but they were being cautious.

"Are you the knight Adrien?" One of them asked, and Adrien nodded. The two guards looked a bit surprised, before they nodded to each other. "We'll need you to come with us, you've been invited to the royal palace to meet with the Emperor." Adrien's helmet lifted a bit in genuine surprise, and he nodded again. _I should have met with them before now._

"Why exactly does the Emperor want to meet me?" Adrien asked, and the guard who had remained silent looked at him harshly.

"Does it matter? You've been invited by the Emperor himself." The second guard said with harshness. The Firekeeper glanced in the direction of the Unkindled, and the knight in question lowered his head in understanding.

"I suppose it does not, take me there then." The guards looked at each other, before they headed toward the direction of the palace, the Ashen one and the Firekeeper not far behind. Adrien thought about what to expect. _undoubtedly I would not meet the emperor by myself, that would be too risky, and with that prime minister by his side all the time, how will I be able to tell him all of these people are in danger?_ As Adrien thought this many people around the street all looked at the sight of the two guards escorting him with both interest and some with fear. Not fear of Adrien or the guards, but of why Adrien was being escorted, and what could become of the one that many of them had come to respect. While he had not been there for a terribly long time, they have heard of what kind of people he has killed, and since they were all thieves or dishonest guards, they all believed the knight was a good man.

"The hell is he doing?" Leone asked herself as she watched the two guards take Adrien toward the direction of the palace. She couldn't ask him herself as she couldn't risk her cover, but she made a mental note that Adrien was going to the palace. _Its a good thing Sheele was able to point out Adrien's hideout. We may not be allowed to take him out, but I sure as hell am glad we can keep an eye on him._ Leone thought as she kept an eye on Adrien for as long as she could. Once he and the guards left sight, she made her way to the book store Lubbock kept up in the capital as a base within the city. _I need to tell the others, this could be seriously good, or seriously bad._

* * *

"Are you sure Mine?" Sheele asked warily from behind a dressing curtain within Mine's room. Mine was looking at the curtain impatiently, and she huffed a bit.

"C'mon Sheele! I want to see it!" Mine retorted impatiently, while sitting on her bed. The two of them were trying on clothes, like they used to do all the time, and now that Sheele was back with them, Mine was taking the opportunity to catch up. Eventually Sheele slowly retracted the curtain revealing that instead of her normal plain purple dress, she was wearing a quite frilly blue dress with golden accents. The dress accentuated her bust by revealing a large amount of it from the top, and the dress lacked shoulders, instead the sleeves were separate articles of clothing, giving her a dignified, but also sexy look.

"H-How do I look?" Sheele asked nervously, and Mine giggled a bit.

"You look great!" Mine said excitedly while looking at her friend. "Let me see the rest of it." Mine said, standing up, and going over to Sheele while the Extase wielder spun around so Mine could see the back. "I'm really glad we can do this again, I kinda missed doing this kinda stuff with you." Sheele nodded in agreement.

"Me too Mine, what do you think I should try on next, or did you want to try something on?" Sheele asked, and Mine chuckled a bit.

"Sure, why not?" Mine said, and she went over to her closet, but when she opened the doors, a battered and partially ripped pink dress fell out that was identical to the one she had on now. Mine was a bit surprised, but once she realized which dress had fallen, she hung her head low.

"Mine? Is something wrong?" Sheele asked worriedly. Mine didn't respond, and Sheele approached her. "Mine?" Sheele placed a hand on the sniper's shoulder to try and comfort her friend.

"Its my fault you know?" Mine said plainly. "Its my fault, you being captured, Bulat...Bulat." Mine said tearfully while looking at the dress on the ground. "Its all my fault." Tears began to flow from her eyes as she reminisced. _If I hadn't failed, then Sheele would have never been that close to dying. If I had been faster, then I could have saved Bulat, but I hesitated. I...I..._ Mine's thoughts were interrupted by Sheele hugging her from behind.

"I know you miss him, we all do, but it wasn't your fault, you weren't able to move that fast then, its a wonder you were there at all. I don't know all that happened, but please, don't blame yourself." Sheele said softly, and Mine began to sob quietly. Sheele let her do so, thankful she could be of comfort to her friend.

* * *

General Budo walked down a hallway within the palace heading for the throne room. He had just been called there by the emperor to welcome an esteemed guest, however the details were left vague. The general could tell that it was the emperor that had actually called this, because if Honest had done so, then Budo would have been told what to do when he got there, instead he was simply told to be there. He rationalized that he would act as protection, but what guest would dare attempt to harm the emperor? Nevertheless he would be there because his majesty requested it.

"Oh? Your being called too?" Esdeath's voice rang from behind Budo, and the general turned around to see the attractive figure of the blue haired woman. "I'm not too surprised, I was called to welcome this 'esteemed guest' as well." Esdeath said, and walked up beside the general as the two of them continued toward the throne room.

"Do you know exactly who we're welcoming?" Budo questioned, and Esdeath smiled a bit.

"I have no Idea, but I heard rumors that the emperor has taken a liking to that Adrien who's been running around the western side of the capital. So who knows? Maybe he's the esteemed guest?" Bubo hummed at Esdeath's theory.

"Well then, it would make sense that the emperor called us to the throne room. It would be dangerous for him to be left alone so close to the emperor." Budo opened a door in front of the two of them, revealing the throne room, which now had a few advisors and nobles inside discussing various topics. The Prime minister looked quite miffed as he stood up at the throne with the emperor, who looked excited. There were several guards around the room, as well as two who were right at the foot of the throne, ready for anything. "Say, hasn't one of your jaegers met with Adrien?" Esdeath nodded while she walked over to the right side of the central lane in the throne room, and Budo stopped observing and followed her, the nobles and advisors, while important, were of no real concern to either of the generals.

"Yes, Seryu is her name, the way I understand it is that they are actually quite close, he helped her fight against two Night Raid members. I'm sure you read that report though, he's been the talk of the western side since he came here. If he does come here, I want to have a little talk with him." Esdeath's face twisted into a signature smile, and Budo felt a little bad for the knight if he ever had the displeasure of meeting Esdeath. Then the prime minister's voice caught Budo's attention.

"Your Majesty! Please!" Honest pleaded with the emperor, but the emperor smiled contently.

"I've already told you Honest, I insist on meeting him, and he's finally come out of hiding, or at least I guess he was in hiding." The emperor mused, and he crossed his arms in confidence. "I'm sure that he won't be a problem." Honest huffed both in exasperation and slight worry. He noticed the generals in the room, and moved to the side of the upper platform where the throne was. He signaled for the generals to come over to him, and both Budo and Esdeath went over to where he was.

"I'm glad you two came, this Adrien fellow has already become a thorn in my side. By his mere existence, he's gained the interest of the emperor, and now his majesty has insisted on meeting him! If he so much as breathes wrong, I want him dead." Honest said hastily, and the two generals nodded. Budo didn't like the thought of killing a man who has apparently fought off Night Raid, and killed many criminals, but if this same person was such a big influence on the emperor, then he is already very dangerous.

"So it is Adrien that is coming here." Esdeath said with interest. "I look forward to see whats going to happen." Honest sighed. _I should have expected that from Esdeath, another challenge to overcome for her I suppose. As long as she protects me and the emperor._

"Interesting?" Budo questioned, but before Esdeath could respond the main chamber doors opened revealing the royal announcer. As he made his way to the throne, the nobles and advisors all lined up beside the central lane, and the two generals joined them on the right side. Honest returned to his place beside and just behind the emperor's right side. The advisor bowed once he was close to the throne.

"Your majesty, sir Adrien has arrived, are you ready for him?" The announcer asked with a dead tone, either masking what he thought of the whole thing, or not genuinely caring. It was hard to tell even for the generals.

"Yes, please, bring him in!" The emperor ordered, and the announcer nodded, before returning to the doors and leaving. Esdeath had to admit she was getting excited about meeting the knight, such a powerful individual would be a useful asset on her team. _Of course, I'd need to test just how powerful he really is._ Esdeath mused while thinking about what a spar with the knight might be like. Then the doors opened again. The announcer was there, but behind him was a fair lady with an odd metal eye cover, who wore an ornate black dress that seemed to indicate she was important in some way. However she had her hands in front of her in a submissive manner, which signaled that the person next to her was her superior in some capacity.

Adrien, the infamous knight had finally shown himself, and Esdeath was here to witness it. His appearance was exactly how the images described him. Black ornate and worn armor covered in a dark green equally as worn cloak. There was something else about him that Esdeath noticed, and the images could not convey. His non-presence, while she could sense those around her with good accuracy as to where they were, it was almost like Adrien was not there at all. Which in of itself made him unsettling to normal people.

The announcer stepped to the side, allowing Adrien and the Firekeeper to go unabated. _So thats the emperor._ Adrien thought as he eyed the boy sitting on the throne. To his left he could see that general Budo and general Esdeath were there in person, and to the left of the emperor was the prime minister, looking quite peeved. Adrien walked forward and the Firekeeper followed on his right side. The attendants grew wary, and uncomfortable at the sight of the knight, but the generals remained firm, and the Emperor looked excited. Adrien noticed an odd smile on Esdeath's face as he passed her, but said nothing. Once him and the Firekeeper were close enough, both of them bowed in respect.

"So you are Adrien? The knight that had fought Night Raid and survived, as well as killed thieves and criminals in the dozens?" The emperor asked, trying to hide his excitement, and attempted a questioning tone. Adrien rose his head just a bit to see the emperor.

"I am, your majesty." Adrien responded cooly. "You have called me here for a reason?" He asked a bit impatiently, while looking at the two guards in front of him.

"I did, The reason I have called you here is because I wish to reward you for what you've done. I heard a few days ago of a report that you had held off three members of Night raid. Such an achievement can not be ignored, so I ask you, what would you like? Money? Fame? A place in our military perhaps? As long as I can give it I will try my best to provide." Honest's mouth gaped at that, as he had not expected it, but he dare not say anything, or else risk the emperor being more annoyed with him. Adrien stood there, unmoving, before he spoke again.

"There is only one thing I desire from you, your majesty." At this, everyone listened carefully to what the knight would say. "I wish for a private audience with yourself, just you, me, and the Firekeeper, for I have urgent news I need to relay to you, and only you." The whole room went silent at Adrien's request. Both the prime minister and the emperor looked shocked, Budo's gaze hardened in suspicion, while Esdeath's eyes widened as well, but her smile never faded. What you might call, a pleasant surprise. Many of the other advisors looked at Adrien with similar expressions to the emperor's or Budo's. Honest was about to protest the Idea immediately, but the emperor spoke first.

"Granted! We shall make arrangements immediately!"

* * *

Adrien walked down a hall following General Budo. It had only been a few minutes since they left the throne room, and he was now being shown where the meeting would take place by General Budo himself. Him and the Firekeeper followed the large blonde haired general, all of them remaining silent, but Budo had a question he needed to ask.

"What exactly do you desire out of all of this?" Budo asked, and Adrien didn't say anything at first, only the sounds of his armored boots hitting the ground reached Budo's ears.

"I desire to meet with the emperor, and talk with him." Adrien responded.

"Talk about what exactly?"

"That is my business." Budo turned his head behind him to look at Adrien, and his eyes narrowed, but the knight gave no reaction. _He is stubborn, but lets see just who hears what you have to say when we get there._ Budo thought as he turned his head forwards again. Only a minute or two passed again before they reached a door that had a particular blue haired female general standing in front of it. There was a small cart next to her as well, and the door itself was decorated with many gold embroideries that indicated it was an important room, at least to some capacity.

"Welcome, Budo, Adrien, The emperor and the prime minister are inside. Honest has asked me to ensure our guests are stripped of their weapons and armor before they meet with the emperor." Esdeath said, looking at them all. Then she looked at Adrien specifically. "There won't be a problem will there?" Adrien said nothing, instead he nodded toward the Firekeeper.

"The Firekeeper shall go first, she has no armor to take off, and no weapon that she wields." Adrien said, and the Firekeeper stepped forward to let the general inspect her. Esdeath frowned a bit, but got to work by patting down the Firekeeper's arms, her torso, and then her legs. Adrien watched the general closely, making sure the infamous woman would not harm the Firekeeper. Soon the general was done.

"She's clean, now, if you would." Esdeath said, looking into Adrien's visor, and the knight stepped forward. Adrien removed a sword, shield, throwing knives, strange looking crossbow, both golden and blue flasks, and put anything else on his tool belt on the cart to the side of the door. Adrien was about to remove his gauntlets, but Esdeath grabbed his hand before he could start. "I shall remove your armor, best to make sure you aren't hiding anything." The smile on the generals face did not appear to make Adrien trust what she said as wholly honest. She carefully unstrapped each gauntlet, revealing pale but also toned hands underneath. Next the general undid the green cloak around Adrien's neck and head, putting the cloth on the cart as well. Esdeath then put hands on the sides of Adrien's helmet, she carefully stated to lift the metal headgear, as her smile grew wider. _Now its time to see what you look like._ "Oh my."

Esdeath fully removed the helmet, revealing Adrien's face. Like his hands, his face was very pale, and to a degree quite handsome. He looked to be on the younger side, but his face also had no trace of facial hair. His hair was a bit of a shock to the generals as it was completely white, with no traces of any other colors. However what really caught their attention were Adrien's eyes which were a bloody red, and held no emption in them, despite the general's surprised looks.

"Now thats interesting." Esdeath said, looking at Adrien's face. She only paused briefly, and she continued to take off Adrien's armor. The breastplate, leg plates, and the rest of the suit was removed, and put on the cart, leaving the ragged dark garments that were underneath the metal plates.

"Are we done?" Adrien asked, and Esdeath looked him over once more, before smiling.

"I believe we are, lets head inside." At that, Esdeath opened the door, and the four of them entered the room, the Firekeeper not straying far from Adrien. The emperor and the prime minister were there, both behind a table, and were both now looking at the visitors. The minister looked a bit surprised at Adrien's attendance, while the emperor looked enthralled at the knight true look. "Your majesty, the knight Adrien is here for your audience."

"Excellent, please, Adrien, take a seat." The emperor said, motioning toward the two chairs on the other side of the table. Both Adrien and the Firekeeper took seats by the table, "So, Sir Adrien, What is it you'd like to talk about?" Adrien looked behind him to see both generals standing behind him in an almost threatening sort of way, while in front of him the prime minister was standing just behind and to the side of the emperor staring at him with anger.

"Your majesty, I mean no offense, but I was hoping to meet with you in private." Adrien said while glancing at Honest. "Without anyone else to overhear." The emperor looked a bit shocked, but also seemed to understand. Honest chuckled in response.

"What a ridiculous Idea." Honest said with a tone of superiority. "I would never leave the emperor alone with y-"

"As you wish, Honest and one of the generals will leave, but I must insist on one of my generals staying." The emperor responded, and Honest's mouth hung agape in shock. Adrien nodded. "General Esdeath will you stay here while me and Adrien meet?" Esdeath smiled.

"Of course your Majesty, if he tries anything, I will not hesitate to end him." Esdeath said, which made Honest give a small sigh of relief. Budo glanced at Esdeath, before both him and honest left the room to the four remaining peoples. Esdeath went to the left wall of the room, and grabbed a chair to bring up to the table. She sat down, and put her feet up on the same table in disregard to Adrien's or the emperor's place.

"So, shall we begin?" The emperor asked, and Adrien nodded.

"I should start by saying what I am about to tell you effects the entirety of your empire. The fate of all of it's people may hang in the balance." Adrien began, and both the emperor's and Esdeath's attention was gained. "The capital, especially the palace, harbors a dangerous amount of humanity within it. It is also being antagonized by the actions being taken in and around this city. If left like it is, the humanity will devolve into Darkness, and consume all in it's wake, beginning with the capital. I ask that you stop the actions that could lead to such a fate." The emperor was almost tempted to laugh. _Humanity was dangerous? He talks as if it was a physical thing._ However what prevented him was Adrien's serious expression, and Esdeath's non-reaction to this news.

"Well, um, Sir Adrien. I appreciate you care so much, but you must understand that I find it very difficult that a concept like humanity poses a threat to anyone. Aren't we all a part of humanity?" The emperor questioned, and Adrien narrowed his eyes before responding.

"I see, then you do not know...May I show you? Humanity is indeed a physical thing you can hold, and I can show you. However I need to access my box over there to demonstrate." _He has physical humanity? How is that possible?_ The emperor thought to himself while studying Adrien for signs of joking, but saw none.

"Sorry, but I can't allow you to do that." Esdeath said, breaking her silence. "As interesting as your 'humanity' and 'Darkness' sounds, I can't let you get your box while so close to the emperor. My subordinate writes very detailed reports." Adrien narrowed his eyes a bit, with an Idea about who she was talking about. The emperor hummed, before he nodded to himself.

"Let him, if he does try anything, which I doubt he will, then I am confident in your abilities." The emperor said, and Esdeath looked at the child for a moment, before smiling to herself.

"As you wish your majesty." Esdeath responded, and fetched the wooden box from the cart, which was now right next to her so she could keep an eye on it. She placed the wooden box in front of Adrien, and he carefully opened the lid, and placed his hand inside. Both of the imperial persons watched the knight carefully as he retracted his hand with something within a closed fist. He moved the box back over toward Esdeath, and she took it back. Adrien slowly opened his fist revealing a small sprite that looked like a small black flame. The emperor's eyes widened.

"This is humanity, in this state it can be a great boon to one's own being, however if it is agitated, and allowed to mutate, it can be the most horrible thing to ever be." Adrien said while holding the small sprite, and Esdeath looked at the thing in scrutiny, unsure if such a small thing could truly be so harmful.

"What do you call it when it becomes agitated?" The emperor asked, clearly becoming more and more curious about this 'humanity'.

"The abyss." At the hint of it's name, the emperor felt a chill run down his spine.

"And how exactly does it become agitated?"

"That I myself am not entirely sure of, but usually an excess amount of humanity gathering in one place could do so, or perhaps there is some way to directly turn humanity into the abyss. However what I do know is that the humanity within this palace, and within the capital is being agitated by something, and my hunch is that corruption, murder, and general crime within this place is causing it." The emperor's eyes widened at this, and Esdeath adopted a wide smile.

"C-Corruption!? Nonsense, there is no corruption here, if the humanity is being agitated it must be something else. We always try to stop thieves and murderers where we can, are you saying our efforts are not enough?" The emperor quickly refuted, and Adrien narrowed his crimson eyes.

"I'm saying that there are crimes possibly going on right beneath your nose, perpetrated by high ranking nobles or advisors, and humanity is being disturbed by it." The emperor's eyes widened again. "Have you not seen the state of the very city you live in your majesty? I implore you to at least look into this." There was a long pause, before the emperor spoke up again with a very serious expression on his face.

"I agreed to meet and talk with you as your reward for all that you have done for the capital, but if you want me to seriously consider that there may be corruption going on within the capital, then I will need something in exchange." Adrien nodded, and the emperor put a hand to his chin in thought. "As much as being a guard would be suitable, I feel as though your talents would be wasted. Esdeath do you a hav-"

"Why doesn't he join the jaegers? He would have plenty of opportunities to serve us while hunting down Night Raid. I believe he would make an excellent member." Esdeath suggested, and the emperor smiled while slamming his fist into his palm.

"Great Idea!" The emperor said, and turned back to Adrien. "If you wish for me to take your suggestion seriously, then in exchange you must join the jaegers and serve the empire. Do you agree?" Adrien thought for a moment. _I would be going against what Night Raid wants, but I have no other choice. I must hope that he finds out before too much more damage is done._ Adrien then thought back to his deal, and how he had almost agreed not to interfere in Night Raid's plans. It was a good thing he never formally added that to the deal. _I suppose this is the only way._

"I agree."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Another chapter is done! I'm actually really happy with this one, and I felt pretty confident while writing it as well. Now, why don't I respond to some general comments.**

 **About Wild hunt:** **I have decided to include them. Obviously they won't show up in the next chapter or so, but they will eventually show up. As for how will I kill them? Well, I don't think y'all will be disappointed.**

 **About Gundyr's move set:** **Ive gone through that fight many times, and the way it turned out is the best way I saw for it to be both realistic, but also not dismissive of anyone's abilities. If you know what I mean.**

 **About this story in general:** **Thank you all so much! I try my best, and your feedback always keeps me coming back to write!**

 **IMPORTANT MESSAGE:**

 **I re-wrote the last portion of the fight scene of the last chapter a bit. What was the change? Basically Adrien didn't try to kill Bulat after he was already down. Thats about it, but still noticeable if you didn't re-read that portion.**

 **Thats about all I can think of at the moment to really tell you guys. Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the reviews! If you have questions or interesting comments about the story I might just respond! So anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10-Soul of the General

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls or Akame ga kiru**

 **Soul of the General**

The Empire's capital was home to many buildings of both residential and governmental purposes. However the most impressive and important building out of all of them was the imperial palace, the true center of the empire. Home to hundreds, if not thousands of officials and nobles, and nearly twice as many servants and guards. The palace can be quite hectic during the day, but the night often brought some sense of rest. This wasn't true for all of the servants, especially the maids, and at times the night can be worse. Many interesting things can happen in the palace, but if one were to ask what the most interesting thing happening tonight was, they would say it was the strange knight and lady that were following the famous general Esdeath.

Adrien's armored footsteps echoed through the hall as he and the Firekeeper followed general Esdeath. The general had asked Adrien to follow her to some other part of the castle immediately after the meeting with the emperor was over, and considering she was now his 'captain' then he more or less had to obey. _It is inconvenient that I am under her command, but if the emperor will consider my words, and this issue is dealt with without bloodshed then it will be worth it._ Adrien thought while he looked at the back of Esdeath's head, considering what his time in the 'jaegers' will be like. _I hope she does not put me on a tight leash._ Briefly he thought about how Koro was strapped to Seryu by a leash, and it amused him.

"May I ask where we are going?" The Firekeeper spoke up, breaking the long silence she had kept up.

"The dungeons, I must ask Adrien an important question." Esdeath responded, looking back to the blind maiden.

"Why does that require going to the dungeons?" Adrien asked curiously, and Esdeath huffed a bit in amusement.

"You'll see." Esdeath's words did not comfort Adrien, and he became more wary of the Firekeeper's safety. They continued toward the dungeons, and they approached a dark metal door, which Esdeath opened with a small key she had in her front shirt pocket. They all went down a dark staircase beyond the metal door, and soon found themselves within the dark stone walls of the palace dungeons. They walked forward for a bit, and Adrien could hear faint screams and the sounds of crying in the distance. The whole atmosphere reminded him of the irithyll dungeons, which brought back painful memories, and put him even more on edge. Adrien signaled for the Firekeeper to come closer, and she complied, the pale lady scooting close enough for her to hold onto Adrien's cloak.

"How much further?" Adrien asked, looking around at the cells on either side of the wall they were going down.

"We're here." Esdeath announced immediately after Adrien's question, making it mute. She opened a cell in front of her with a different key from before, and ushered her two followers inside, where they saw a figure hanging by chains that connected to the figure's wrists by steel cuffs. Adrien recognized this figure.

"G-General...Esdeath?" Liver groaned as he awoke, pain still lingering in his body. He still vividly remembered his punishment for failing so miserably. While none of it was permanent damage, the physiological trauma would most likely be there forever. Before him was Esdeath herself, and two strangers, one of which was an armored knight with a tattered cloak, and a fair lady with a metal blindfold. "Why have you returned?"

"I have not returned here for you." Esdeath said while looking down at the man, before she faced Adrien. "I came here to find out if he is the same knight that attacked you." Adrien faced Esdeath fully, and Liver's eyes widened. "You see, Liver here gave a very good report of the mysterious knight that attacked him in regal armor. One thing that I noticed was the impressive strength, durability, and the strange ability that killed one of my beasts by seeming to suck the life right out of them. An ability that seems very reminiscent of the description Seryu had made of your strange red hand." Adrien rose his head, realizing what she was implying. "Not to mention your strength and durability match this 'other' knight's" Esdeath continued, putting a sarcastic tone on the word 'other'. The general then began to walk towards Adrien, as the undead prepared for a fight. "So, are you and this knight the same person? Or am I jumping to reasonable conclusions?" Esdeath said, now mere inches away from Adrien's face, the general only about an inch shorter than the knight. Now that she was this close, the unkindled looked at Esdeath's marking that was on her chest. The style was unfamiliar, but judging by it's color, and it's prominence Adrien Figured it might have something to do with her powers.

"And if I am?" Adrien asked, and Esdeath smiled.

"Then if your thinking I'm going to arrest you or something, then don't worry. No one else knows the details of the attack on my three beasts, so no one has to know." Esdeath said with a sinister smile. "However, what I truly want is for you to finish what you started. Liver has proven to be a weak individual, and he has no more use for me. So show me if your serious about being a part of the jaegers." Adrien looked at the man briefly, before turning back to her.

"He is defenseless, and means no harm to me anymore. There is no need for him to die." Adrien said, and Esdeath frowned a bit, but it was more of a pout if anything.

"So your going to disregard your superior because of your morals?" She asked dangerously.

"My morals and desire are the very reason I am under you in the first place. I do not like suffering, or needless bloodshed."

"So your saying you never killed anyone with either of those two?" Esdeath's question caused Adrien to huff in annoyance at the general, who was still right in his face.

"I have done much wrong in my past, but now I only kill who I have to, or who gets in my way." Esdeath smiled at that.

"A mysterious past? I like that. So will you still not kill him?" At Esdeath's question, he shook his head, and Esdeath walked away from him, and towards Liver. She withdrew the large rapier that had been on her back since she had been in the hall before the meeting, and pointed it at Liver's throat. "You will do what I say, Adrien, one way or another. If I kill Liver, and you do nothing to stop me, are you still not abandoning your morals? But if you try to stop me, that would be attacking your superior officer, a grave offense."

"Killing your subordinates? Is this what I can look forward to while working in the jaegers?" Adrien asked, keeping an eye on both Esdeath and Liver.

"No, after all this is a once in a blue moon scenario, Liver was weak, Nyau was weak, Daidara was weak, so I'm going to make use of the last of the three. You interest me Adrien, and I intend for you to see things...my way." Esdeath sliced Liver's throat quickly, fresh blood spilling out from the arterial wound. Adrien balled his fists in frustration as he felt one **Soul of Liver** enter his body, along with several thousand normal souls. "Now, why don't I show you two to your room?"

* * *

Night Raid's hideout was what many would call more of a castle considering it's size, despite it being a hideout for an assassination group. The large tan-stone structure encompassed the side of a cliff face, and among it's many rooms was an open training area that a certain assassin was using. This assassin was the newest member of the group, Tatsumi, currently clad in the imperial arms Incursio. Thankfully the armor was indeed compatible with the young man, and he had spent the last week honing his skills with the imperial arms.

Tatsumi struck a straw dummy with the long red spear that came with the Incursio armor, and the dummy was completely bisected by the spear. Tatsumi sighed, while he was getting better at handling the weapon, he didn't know if he was ready for combat, especially with another arms user. Leone opened the door to the training room, and approached their newest member.

"Lookin' pretty good Tatsumi, you sure showed those dummies." Leone said enthusiastically, but with a bit of snark as well. Tatsumi groaned a bit, and the Incursio armor began to turn to smoke around his body. Soon the armor and spear completely dissipated, leaving Tatsumi in his usual white duster and sweater vest, holding the sword form of Incursio.

"Yea, well, I've been getting better at it. I can even use the trump card well enough now too." Tatsumi said confidently, and Leone smirked. While the Lionelle imperial arms user would have loved to chat with him more, she needed to get him inside where Najenda had called a meeting about her return.

"Glad to hear it, but I should let you know, the boss needs to talk with us." Leone said with a bit more seriousness, and Tatsumi nodded. Leone walked back inside, and Tatsumi followed her. As they walked, Leone chuckled a bit, but Tatsumi couldn't tell what she was amused about. Before he knew it, she was crouching low next to a door with a cheeky smile on her face. She carefully reached for the doorknob, trying to be as quiet as possible. Tatsumi decided to stay back, not wanting to be a part of whatever was going on. Leone slowly opened the door, and peeked in. "Hey there! You both ready to...oh." Leone's face looked surprised for a second, before the same cheeky smile returned. Tatsumi's eyebrow raised in confusion. "Mine, I know you missed Sheele, but I didn't think you missed her _that_ much." Leone chuckled. Curiosity got the better of Tatsumi, and he went over, and peeked in.

Sheele was standing with an ornate dress on, while Mine looked to be...groping Sheele's breasts. Mine was faced forward, so she couldn't see Tatsumi lean his head in. Sheele looked to be very uncomfortable.

"I'm trying to get this stupid dress off! And her bra got stuck on the inside of the dress!" Mine yelled in frustration, before looking back at the door. "Why don't you stop staring and..." Mine then noticed the unwanted attention. "Tatsumi! Lubbock! Get the hell out of here before I blast you both to kingdom come!" Tatsumi and Leone looked over to the other side of the door to see the familiar green haired assassin there to witness it all. His perverted grin told them he was enjoying this.

"But pumpkin's still not repaired, how are you gonna blast us?" Lubbock teased, and Mine growled.

"Then I'll just beat you to a pulp." Leone said cheerily, and Lubbock gulped, before he began calmly walking away toward the meeting area.

"See you guys there." He said while waving behind him. Tatsumi looked at the back of the assassin's head, before he looked down to see Leone giving him a pleasant smile.

"I'd get going if I were you Tatsumi." Leone said dangerously, and the newest member wasted no time in leaving the area.

* * *

"Now that your all here, I need to tell you I'll be leaving for the revolutionary army headquarters. I would have left sooner, but I needed to be sure of everything I was going to take, and everything I needed to do." Najenda said to her subordinates, who had all gathered in the meeting room. "I should be back soon, but until then, Akame, your in charge." Najenda said while directing her attention toward the crimson eyed assassin. The girl nodded, and Najenda lifted a large backpack over her shoulder.

"I understand the basics." Akame said flatly.

"The basics?" Tatsumi questioned aloud, but no one bothered to respond.

"I should be back with Pumpkin fully repaired, and some new members. Try not to burn the place down while I'm out." Tatsumi, who was next to Lubbock for the meeting, chuckled a bit at the thought of being able to burn an almost completely stone structure.

"Don't worry about a thing, we'll be just fine" Lubbock said confidently, holding out a thumbs up.

"Oh right, before I leave, Leone wasn't there something you needed to tell us?" Najenda asked, suddenly remembering that Leone had needed to call a meeting anyway for some reason.

"Yea, it has to do with our not-friend, Adrien." Leone said, and at the mention of the name, most everyone adopted an almost sour look on their faces. "Saw him earlier today being escorted by some guards toward the palace. Didn't hear what the guards said, but I heard from some sources that the emperor himself wanted to meet with him. Don't know why though, apparently it was a bit of a surprise to people within the palace too. At least thats what they say." Leone explains, and Najenda nods thoughtfully.

"Emperor Makoto himself huh? Thats certainly interesting, but it's also worrying. They may be trying to recruit him." Najenda says, and the rest of Night Raid harden their gazes in thought.

"What would he have to gain by joining the empire though?" Lubbock thought aloud. "He has power, doesn't really need fame now, and he probably has a lot of money somewhere." At his statement, Akame hummed.

"Its not just that, my sources also say Esdeath is gathering imperial arms users to make a special team. Adrien could be called to become a part f it." Leone said ominously.

"He did say he had his own goals right?" Akame asked, and Leone nodded, remembering what all was discussed that night nearly a week ago. "Perhaps he needs to join the empire to accomplish that goal? If he was truly sympathetic to the empire, and was as vile as them, Sheele would not be here." Mine gripped her dress in frustration, remembering when she and Sheele had fought him. Sheele nodded, seeming to try to remember something.

"Yea, he didn't really care about that Ogre guy being killed, so he definitely has alternative goals." Tatsumi said while putting his hand to his chin.

"From what I remember, Adrien seemed really concerned about the...the uh..." Sheele stopped, briefly forgetting the name of that lady's name. "Oh! The Firekeeper! Thats right, he was really concerned for her, and he gave me Extase back for saving her."

"So he's seeking security then." Najenda said contemplatively. "I'm not sure why he cares so much for his 'servant' but thats the best we have right now as for the reason. Still though, I feel like theres more to it than just that." Leone nodded, understanding what she meant. "Well, Until next time I suppose, when I get back fill me in on anything that happened, as I'm sure you will." Najenda said, as she left the meeting room, leaving the rest of Night raid to contemplate what exactly to do next.

* * *

"Breakfast is served!" Bols announced, getting the jaeger's attention. Bols was a large muscular man that wore a pair of white pants with large white gloves for his hands. His face was covered by a white gas mask, and his chest was bear, but had three large scars on his upper chest. He also had several plates of breakfast food in his hands and on his arms which he soon brought over to the rest of the jaegers.

"Thanks a lot Bols." Wave said thankfully when his plate was put down in front of him. Wave was a young man with dark blue hair, and eyes. He wore a blue leather jacket with a white shirt that had a single blue stripe down the center. He also had a red scarf around his neck with a small anchor on it. Next to him sat Kurome, a young girl with black hair tied in a twin tail style, and black eyes. She wore a black and red sailors uniform, and had red gauntlets around her wrists. She also had a katana with a red handle on her hip. The young girl said nothing when the food was put in front of her, but nodded in thanks.

"Yes, thank you." Run said as his food was presented. Run was a young man with fair blond hair and golden eyes. He wore a white robe on top of a black shirt and pants with a brown belt, a feather pin behind his ear and a collar-like accessory on his neck.

"You have my thanks, Bols." Dr Stylish said. Dr. Stylish was a near middle aged man with black hair that had a white patch in the front. He was currently wearing his normal white lab coat and yellow suit with a blue shirt.

"Thank you Bols! I'll be sure to eat it all!" Seryu said excitedly when her plate was put in front of her, and Koro gave a bark of appreciation when some dog food was put before him.

"Oh don't worry about it, I love cooking, so theres no problem." Bols said a bit bashfully, as he finished giving out all the dishes. The jaegers were all currently in their main eating hall that had been reserved for them in the palace by Esdeath when the team was formed. They were not only eating breakfast, but were also waiting on their captain, general Esdeath, as she apparently had an important announcement for them. "So what do you think Esdeath wants to tell us?" Bols asked curiously as he sat down on an empty chair at the table.

"Don't know, but it must be important." Wave said with his mouth half full. "After all we've only been a team for...what? A few days? And already she has an announcement?"

"I do hope nothing went wrong at that meeting yesterday." Dr. Stylish said after wiping his mouth of some food. The other jaegers looked at him curiously, and Dr Stylish looked at the rest of them oddly. "What? Did you all not hear of the meeting that the emperor was holding yesterday with that mysterious guest?" At his questioning the rest of the jaegers shook their heads. "How on earth did you all manage that? Its been the talk of the palace for almost a week!" They all shrugged, unsure of just how it happened. Stylish was about to reprimand his teammates for being so unaware, but then Esdeath forcefully opened the door to the room. The general smiled upon seeing her team gathered.

"I'm glad your all here, as I have an important announcement. We've gotten a new member." Esdeath announced while walking a bit into the room. All the team's eyes widened a bit, except for Bol's who's eyes were hidden behind his mask. "I know its already a bit early for a new member, but the current situation has led to this."

"Don't worry, we really haven't gotten a chance to really know each other anyway, one more member won't hurt." Run pointed out, and Wave nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad, because I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Did you all hear about the meeting the emperor had yesterday?" They all hesitantly nodded, as most of them had only just heard about it from Stylish. "Well, the guest emperor Makoto had invited, has made a deal with the emperor that allows him to join our team. I would like you all to welcome the knight Adrien to the Jaegers." Esdeath finished, before stepping aside, letting Adrien step forward. The Jaegers had various different reactions. Wave gulped a bit, upon seeing Adrien's intimidating visage. Kurome bit into her meal, appearing to have little to no interest in the new member. Dr. Stylish cringed a bit upon seeing Adrien's appearance, apparently finding it unappealing. Run raised his eyebrow, while Bols looked at the newcomer with interest. Before any of them could say anything, Seryu acted first.

"Mr Adrien!" Seryu shouted excitedly, and quickly got up from the table, rushing for the knight. To much everyone's surprise, except for Adrien's and Esdeath's, Seryu gave the knight a large hug. "I didn't know you were going to join the Jaegers!" Adrien looked down at the girl, and gently rubbed her head with an armored hand.

"I suppose it just happened, how have you been Seryu?" Adrien asked gently, as he noticed that Koro was still eating his breakfast by the table. Seryu smiled at him, before letting go of the knight.

"I've been really great! We haven't got to go on any missions, but living in the palace is still really fun!" Seryu looked behind Adrien, and seemed to notice something. "Hey, wheres the Firekeeper? Isn't she usually with you?" At Seryu's question, Esdeath decided to answer.

"The 'Firekeeper' is in Adrien's room, guarded by two solders who I personally selected." Esdeath explained with a slight frown, almost as if she was disappointed. "Adrien requested it before he came here." Adrien nodded to Seryu to say that what Esdeath said was correct.

"Oh okay!" Seryu said happily. "Oh! Since your joining the jaegers you should meet the rest of them!" Seryu went over back to the table, while both Adrien and Esdeath followed her. The other jaegers smiled a bit upon seeing how warm Seryu was with their newest member, and Bols was the first to speak up.

"Hey there Adrien, my names Bols, Its a pleasure to meet you." He said while walking up to the knight, and holding out his hand to shake. Adrien shook it, and nodded before letting go, giving no reaction to the man's mask. Wave got up from his seat, and held out his hand as well.

"Name's Wave, I read a bit about you in the papers, with you on board, theres no way Night Raid will stand a chance." Adrien shook the young man's hand after he introduced himself. "Oh, and thats Kurome." Wave said while pointing with his thumb at the young girl that was sitting next to him. Kurome nodded at Adrien, before continuing her meal. Run waved to the knight, and Adrien turned his gaze to him.

"Hello Adrien, My name is Run, I've also heard a lot about you. I'm eager to see how you preform in battle." Run said and Adrien nodded, expecting that his new team members wanted to know just how well they can count on him in battle.

"Oh yes, I'm very curious as to how well you'll perform." Adrien turned his attention to what appeared to be some kind of odd scientist. "Oh, where are my manners, my name is Dr. Stylish, at your service." Adrien nodded at the odd man. "I do believe you'll be needing my services as well, that armor your wearing is just...just...ugh." Stylish appeared visibly repulsed by Adrien's armor, and the unkindled huffed a bit.

"Don't be like that Doctor, I think it's cool, makes him look mysterious." Seryu said while looking at Adrien's armor carefully.

"Well, I suppose it does a bit, but its not the stylish kind of mysterious, if you want I could make you a dark cape, maybe a top hat to go with it?" Stylish offered to Adrien, and the unkindled looked at his armored gauntlets. _Stylish? I guess thats why he gets his name. What benefit would that give me though?_ Adrien thought, before he looked back at the doctor.

"I appreciate the offer, but I believe these will do just fine for now." Adrien responded, and Dr. Stylish looked at him with disapproval. Before the doctor could retort, Esdeath slammed her foot on the ground, her heel causing a large _crack_ to fill the air.

"Your newest member isn't the only reason I needed you all here." Esdeath began, and the jaegers were all looking at their captain with anticipation. "We have our first mission." Adrien looked over to Seryu, who's eyes were sparkling with excitement, and then to the other jaegers. Wave and Run had a determined expression, while Kurome and Bols seemed to have no reaction. Although with Bol's mask it was very hard to gather any information as to what he was thinking. Dr. Stylish had an amused grin on his face, which told the undead that Doctor might be hiding something a bit Dark under the surface. All of this told Adrien that he was going to have to get used to all of these different people who he was now teamed up with. He kinda missed good old fashioned jolly cooperation.

* * *

The Firekeeper gently caressed the knife that the ashen one had given her before he parted to meet the 'jaegers', as they call themselves. It was a rather large dagger, bigger than the first one she was given nearly a month ago. It was ornately designed, and signaled to the blind maiden that it was special. She slipped it behind her back, where she had kept the first one, and mulled over her thoughts. Mostly of what the last week or so had been like. Adrien had described his confrontation with Night Raid in detail, and of the deal he had made with them afterward. Although what they discussed most was his ability to still come back from death, only this time instead of a bonfire, the Firekeeper herself was the catalyst. This apparently had confirmed Adrien's theory that somehow the First Flame was now imbedded within her. Although he couldn't prove it, it was a very reasonable theory considering the circumstances.

So once the guards started asking around for a 'knight named Adrien' the ashen one had been very wary, not waning to compromise him or the firekeeper after this revelation. It had gotten more difficult as the patrols seemed to become more frequent. Nevertheless he would go out, and often buy treats for her at her request. _He always does try his best._ She mused to herself. Even when he was leaving, he wanted to be sure that the guards now stationed at her door wouldn't try any funny business. The Firekeeper smiled to herself, but her thoughts turned to recent events again, and she frowned, especially remembering when Adrien had used the transposing kiln again.

Whatever he had made, he had used all of the powerful souls he had collected when he got here, Some he used to make artifacts, but others, he directly absorbed. This was especially odd as the ashen one had never absorbed important souls in the past. With the large amount of souls he had collected he used her to make him stronger. Vigor and more intelligence, those were what the ashen one had decided to enhance, but it didn't make him too much Firekeeper moved from her position on the couch in the room to where she remembered the table was. She silently prayed that Adrien would remain safe, and those new items might be of use to him.

* * *

Adrien walked with the rest of the Jaegers to the location of their first mission, a bandit fortress. Apparently they had captured it, and were now holding it in direct opposition to the empire, using it to stage operations miles away from the fortress itself. Rather resourceful for bandits, but the nature of their crimes made that resourcefulness seem more like devious planning. Which it was considering the nature of the crimes they committed. Adrien observed his teammates as they all walked. Bols was holding what appeared to be a large firearm that was attached to some kind of mechanism on the his back. Wave, Run, Seryu, and Kurome had no discernible difference form what they were wearing before, while Dr. Stylish now had on a large pair of gloves. Esdeath was in the back, observing them all.

"This shouldn't be too difficult. Its just a bunch of bandits right?" Wave asked nonchalantly, and Seryu nodded.

"Don't underestimate your enemies, you never know what they might have up their sleeve." Run said while looking left and right for potential threats. Seryu then scooted back, and approached Adrien with a smile.

"Excellently said Run." Esdeath praised. "I'm sure we won't have much of a problem, but you never know unless you find out yourself." Soon, the walls of the fortress came into view, and the jaegers all looked at the structure from a hill in front of it.. "Looks like we're here." She said smugly.

"Hey Mr. Adrien, I want you to have this." Seryu said while handing Adrien a small white whistle. Adrien looked at it oddly, visibly confused. "Its a special dog whistle that'll signal Koro if your ever in trouble, that is." Seryu said a bit sheepishly, and Adrien looked at the whistle again.

"If I need it, I will use it." Adrien said thankfully, and Seryu smiled warmly before she returned to the front.

"Is this it? The bandit's fortress?" Bols asked aloud, and Stylish responded.

"It is, our first major mission as the jaegers is to bring that place down."

"Whats our strategy?" Run asked aloud, and Seryu took point as she looked at the fortress in the distance.

"Justice should boldly launch an up front attack!" Seryu proclaimed, and Adrien hummed at the idea. Everyone began to move again, and Adrien looked back to where Esdeath was, and saw she was looking right back at him, observing him. _What does she want from me?_ He asked himself, before turning his attention back to the front.

"Alright, this is where I leave you." Esdeath said with a sigh, catching the other's attention. "I'll be observing you all, to see what you can improve on. Be sure to perform at your best." Esdeath gave Adrien a wink before she jumped up and away from view. Esdeath climbed up a nearby hill with untold speed, and found a large cliff face to look at the fortress from. She walked over to the edge and sat down. She looked down to see the rest of her team climbing stairs to reach the fortress. Esdeath noticed that Adrien was staying near the back of the group, next to Bols. _As interesting as Adrien is, I need to be sure he's perfect._ She thought to herself, her eyes planted firmly on the knight's form. _He certainly shows potential, and he is younger than me, but I still need that smile. If he can show me that, then I'll take him as my own._ At that particular thought, she stopped herself, and imagined what it would be like to be close to Adrien in that way. She couldn't help but blush at the thought.

* * *

Bandit's appeared in the jaeger's path before they even reached the fortress. Adrien observed the bandits, and noticed they were all wielding firearms or knives, pointing the weapons at them. They were wearing strange white helmets that completely encompassed their heads, and visors with multiple horizontal slits.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here! Attacking from the front!" One of the bandits shouted, trying to sound threatening.

"Koro, Number Five." Seryu said, keeping her head down slightly, and Koro seemed to tremble a bit, before growing exponentially, and spitting out a large green drill with a gun-like handle. Seryu caught the weapon, and swung the now rotating drill at the bandits, who had since charged at her. "Judgement of the ten heavenly kings! Enma's spear of justice!" The drill killed several of them, but others managed to avoid the strike. "Number Seven!" Seryu shouted, and threw the drill back at Koro, who seemed to eat the weapon, before spitting out a huge cannon with a vest strap at the back. Seryu slipped it on with ease, and pointed the long barrel at the door to the fortress. "Taizan's cannon of justice!" Right after she said that, she pushed a button on the side, and the cannon fired, blowing the door to the fortress to smithereens.

"Heh, I created those weapons, you know?" Dr. Stylish said proudly. "God hands, the perfecter, they increase my speed and precision a hundredfold. They are the most stylish of imperial arms!" Adrien looked at the doctor oddly, before he noticed that among the team, one was missing.

Kurome had gone ahead, and with her katana and the cover of the smoke from the blast she cut down a dozen bandits, saying something quietly that Adrien couldn't hear. He decided to act, and he rushed in to the forest along with the rest of his team. A bandit appeared from around a corner, and aimed a pistol at Kurome, Adrien was about to shield her from the shot, but Wave suddenly appeared from behind the bandit, delivering a harsh kick. Bandit's began to form up around the walls, but before they could do much Fire suddenly engulfed them all.

"The flamethrower imperial arms, Purgatory's invitation: Rubicante." Bols said while dousing the walls in flame. "This, too, is part of the job." Adrien looked at the masked man, noticing his tensed up face. Adrien saw the bandits that had avoided Seryu's drill get cut down by Feathers sent by Run's wings. Run now sported a pair of angel wings that were on his back.

"The winged Imperial arms, thousand-Mile Flight: Mastema." Run seemed to explain to his now deceased enemies. "I won't let any of you escape." All of this reminded Adrien of the angels withing the ringed city, which brought back rather painful memories. Adrien walked further into the fortress, and he could hear the sounds of battle as his teammates fought bandits. He stepped down an alley to hopefully catch any bandits attempting to escape. _Seryu certainly is skilled, and so are the ret of the jaegers. Perhaps a little too skilled I can't seem to find any bandits to-_ Adrien's thoughts were interrupted by multiple gunshots as his back was peppered with bullets. The pain he experienced was minimal, but the force managed to knock him off balance and onto the ground.

"Ha! Got one of the bastards!" A bandit shouted from a rooftop upon seeing the knight fall after his and and three bandit's barrage of bullets.

"Yea, now lets get out of here while we-" Another bandit's statement was cut off as a bolt was suddenly shot through the bottom of his mouth. The other three looked on in horror and shock as the bandit fell down off the roof, and into the alley where the knight was standing again, now holding an odd looking crossbow. Before they could ready their firearms again, the knight pointed the crossbow at them, and a flurry of bolts were sent toward them. Two of them were cut down instantly, and the other was hit in the shoulder. Seeing three of his fellows so easily killed, he decided to get the hell out of there.

Unfortunately, Run of the jaegers had a different idea, and upon seeing the wounded bandit fleeing on the rooftops where Adrien couldn't reach him, decided to act. Three quick feathers cut down the bandit, blood splatting on the rooftop. Run looked to the alley roofs where three other corpses were all lying there. He spotted Adrien walking away, out of the other end of the alley, scanning the area around him. Run hummed to himself, thinking about what the knight might do, before he went to fight in another part of the fortress.

Adrien managed to find a small collection of bandits that were organizing some kind of retaliation plan, but never got a chance to act it out because of the undead. Adrien began by firing a volley of crossbow bolts into the small crowd, killing many of them right off the bat. Three attempted to engage the knight in close combat, all of the charging him. Adrien blocked one of the knives that were directed at him with his knight shield, and sliced the bandit's arm off with the lothric knight straight sword. Another bandit attempted to jump at the knight from behind, but Adrien put his shield on his back, grabbed the bandit's face, and used the Dark hand to drain his humanity in moments. That was a large enough opening for the last of the three to strike the Adrien's helmet, but the blade did little to stop Adrien's assault. The unkindled decapitated the last bandit, and left the first one to bleed out. There were only two more, both of which held firearms with shaking hands. Adrien used this moment to use the new tool Patches had given him. Adrien retrieved the large four-barreled pistol from his tool belt and shot twice, each shot hitting a bandit, the large round puncturing the little armor they had on. Adrien looked at the pistol, _A useful tool,_ he thought, before putting it back on his tool belt. Adrien walked further down the street, searching for more targets, eventually coming across three more. They were heading down a different street, toward the walls of the fortress.

"C'mon we're almost there!" A tall man yelled to his teammates. This man was wearing the normal bandit drab, but instead of a helmet he instead had a large collection of scaly dark grey scarves that covered his neck, and the lower half of his face. His two teammates were following close behind. One was a large burley man that had similar attire to the rest of the bandits, but wielded what could only be described as an oversized Gatling cannon. The last member was a young woman with dark blue tight fitting garments with a single dark blue scarf, wielding two large ornate knives.

"We're coming We're coming, geez. Don't get your nickers in a twist Freddy." The burly man said with a roll of his eyes, and the woman snickered.

"I asked you to call me Fredrick! Whatever. Sasha, anyone following us?" Fredrick asked, looking behind him towards the woman. She looked around them, but her gaze was suddenly set on their right side.

"We got someone." Sasha said dangerously, and her two male companions looked to where she was, and saw a knight in a dark green cloak. "I'll take care of him." The blades she held were suddenly surrounded with a visible wind, and she began to rush at the man with enhanced speed. The wind pushed behind her, and she prepared to strike the knight. The knight put up his shield, but she dashed behind his back, and dove to hit him.

Adrien easily blocked the attack by spinning around in the nick of time. Adrien couldn't see the bottom half of the woman's face, but he figured that she was surprised based on the look in her eyes. She dashed back, and attempted to strike again, but Adrien already saw the attack coming thanks to one of his newest items. The Foresight ring. Adrien had transposed it from Zank's soul, and it allowed him to see the future attacks of enemies, as long as they were kept in sight. Thanks to this, he was able to predict this woman's backstab. However the ring's effects did not activate unless he first saw his opponent, hence why he got bombarded earlier. He had to replace his sun princess ring, but he figured he could do without it. Now his hand sported the enhanced cloranthy ring, Silver covetous serpent ring, the knight ring, and the aforementioned Foresight ring.

Sasha's second attack was parried with the knight's shield, and before she could get away, a sword was thrust into her abdomen. Her face ignited in visible pain as she coughed up a bit of blood. The knight retracted his sword, and Sasha fell to the ground, barely breathing.

"Sasha!" The burley man cried, before turning his giant Gatling cannon at the knight.

"Wait, Bords!" Fredrick exclaimed in warning, but it was too late as Bords fired several cannonball sized projectiles at the knight, the barrels spinning in accordance with each shot. The knight expertly and effortlessly dodged them, either weaving around them, or rolling under them. The knight was approaching faster. Fredrick decided it was his turn, as his scarves floated on their own, and six separate tendrils of the scaly carves suddenly thrusted themselves toward the knight.

Adrien was having a hard time, even with the foresight ring, the projectiles were appearing more frequently, and now that other bandit's scarves were attacking him, making it even harder to avoid any of the attacks. Then one of the scarves landed a hit, making Adrien stagger, the force behind the tendril was surprising, before one of the projectiles hit him square in the chest. He had enough time to bring up his shield for another, but soon his shield was taking the brunt of all the force, and his stamina was running out.

"Thats it!" The burley bandit cried, catching Adrien's attention. "Lets see how you like this!" he stopped his barrage, and the barrels seemed to unfurl, and the outer linings merged with each other, and stretched out, making one large barrel. "This is the imperial arms Peach! It was the prototype for another one, but its trump card is certainly more powerful than whatever that other thing can dish out!" As he said this, all six tendrils of the tall man's scarves pushed against Adrien's shield, attempting to hold him back. Adrien pushed forward, managing to budge the tendrils. He didn't have much time to progress though, as a massive explosion ripped through the air followed by a massive force striking his shield. It was blown to the side, and Adrien was thrown back into the building behind him, causing dust and debris to fly around where he impacted.

"Sasha!" Fredrick called, running for his fallen comrade. Once he reached her, he gently picked her up, looking at her injuries. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly, and she rasped a cough. "We need to get her out of here." Bords nodded, and picked her up gently, and placing her on his shoulder. They began to run back in the direction they were heading before meeting that troublesome knight. As they began to head back a loud thud made the two men turn around to where the dust cloud was. Then something parted the top of it, something massive. It was rugged in texture, and was a blackish purple with a wide end. It parted the dust cloud like a blade through water, and at the bottom of it was the knight, without his gantlets and helmet, holding the massive object by a handle. "What. The. Fuck."

Adrien figured that he could try to use the repeating crossbow, or even Avelyn, but with the dexterity of that tall man's scarves, he would most likely be able to block any incoming bolts. If He tried to use advanced sorceries they would eat up his magic sooner than you could say ashen estus flask. So his last option was using something with long reach, and with power behind it. While technically there were many weapons that fit that bill, there was only one that was the greatest at both. The Fume Ultra Great Sword. Of course, it wasn't the greatest weapon, but the intimidation factor he could tell they were feeling would help him. Adrien had to sacrifice his gauntlets, his helmet, and his silver serpent ring for Havel's ring in order to carry the damn thing, but it's worth it.

"Oh shit." Bords said aloud as the knight began to run, with the giant sword, swiftly approaching the three bandits. He looked at his imperial arms, which was still red hot from using the trump card, now unable to be used normally for some time.

"Go, I'll cover us." Fredrick said, his scarves floating threateningly around him. Bords didn't bother to respond, instead he ran with Sasha on his shoulder. Fredrick sent the ends of his scarves for the knight, and in response, the knight pulled back his left hand as if preparing to throw something. The knight's hand was engulfed with fire, and he seemed to toss the same fire in his hand toward Frederick's imperial arms. A large orb of Fire materialized that was surrounded by other rings and tendrils of fire from the knight's hand, soaring directly at its target. The orb of Fire struck the scarves, and they were blown back by the ensuing explosion from the orb. Seizing the opportunity, the knight rushed forward, and was soon upon Fredrick.

Adrien lifted the ultra great sword up, and slammed it down where the bandit was. The bandit's scarves quickly came up to block the attack, and when the ultra great sword came down, the scarves just barely managed to stop the sword. Adrien was a bit surprised, but he pressed down harder, and the scarves moved due to the added pressure. The bandit was struggling, and the sword was nearing closer to his face. Finally making up his mind, the bandit moved to the right, as his scarves held the sword for just long enough. The massive weapon slammed into the ground, causing the stone road to crack violently due to the force. Adrien adjusted his position, lifting the sword back up, before bringing it back down again. The bandit seemed surprise at the speed of his recovery, but again blocked the blow with his scarves. Adrien would not let that stop him again. Adrien retracted the sword, and prepared another bed of chaos vestiges pyromancy. Before he could cast it though, his side was struck with a large projectile.

"How do ya like that!?" Bords exclaimed victoriously, seeing the knight be thrown back a bit from his attack. _I guess Sasha is safe somewhere else, but he still should have left with her. Damn idiot._ Frederick thought to himself. In response to the attack, the knight started to pivot the sword behind him on his back, starting to gather momentum with it. Fredrick realized what he was doing. If he gathered enough momentum, and swung, not even his scarves would save him. Bords, completely oblivious to it, stepped forward, and prepared another shot. Time seemed to slow for a moment, realizing he had to do something fast. He used his mind to control the scarf imperial arms around his neck. He sent the six tendrils flying toward the knight. As the knight was getting ready to actually swing, the scarves imbedded themselves into the knight's chest, and hit the sword on his back.

Adrien didn't stop as the tendrils dug into his chest and insides, and swung the ultra great sword at the tall man with the scarves. The man put fingers up to his temples, and six transparent versions of his scarves suddenly manifested from the real ones, these scarves hit the Fume Ultra Great sword in an attempt to stop it. Adrien felt resistance, but it wasn't enough as the sword struck the tall man. The Force was reduced, but he was still sent flying as a large cut was formed on his chest, reaching from one of his pectorals to the other. He screamed in pain as he flew to the side, and his phantom scarves dissipated as his fingers were removed from his temples.

"Fredrick!" The burly man exclaimed, Adrien finally learning one of the bandit's names. He remembered the burley one's name being spoken, but he forgot. Adrien was about to attack again, but gunshots perforated the air as blood suddenly burst into the air from the burley one's back. "W-What?" he asked himself as more gunshots were heard in the air. Frederick turned around to see where the gunshots came from, only to see a large dog like creature land on the ground in front of him.

"Leave Mr. Adrien alone!" A female voice sounded from afar, and Adrien looked up to see Seryu looking down into the street from a rooftop. She was also holding a rifle like firearm in her hands. It must have been what hit the burley one. Koro rushed at Frederick, and in response the tall man readied his scarves. Koro was struck by the scarves, his malleable form being ripped and diced. Adrien wouldn't have any of that, and readied his pistol, aiming it at the man. A heavy gunshot ripped through the night as Adrien fired his pistol, the shot hitting the man in the chest. He only had a moment to react to this, as Koro quickly chomped down on him, quickly swallowing Fredrick. Adrien looked at Koro, in slight bewilderment, wondering where he and Seryu came from. "Mr Adrien? Are you okay?" Adrien turned to his right, and saw Seryu was looking at him worriedly, but then she saw his face. She gasped loudly, placing her hands on her cheeks in excitement.

* * *

"Did anyone see where they went?" Esdeath asked as she looked at the wreckage around her as she walked a street of the fortress. The rest of the Jaegers, barring two, were following her as they searched for their missing comrades. Normally Esdeath wouldn't worry, but she wanted to see just how Adrien had done with his assignment.

"I saw Adrien head toward the east side, Seryu might have followed him." Run said, with a hand to his chin.

"Koro is a Dog, so he should be able to track down Adrien right?" Bols asked aloud, and Wave nodded at the statement.

"Lets head there then" Esdeath said, heading eastward, and the others followed. _I certainly hope Adrien can satisfy my expectations._ Esdeath thought with excitement as her pace increased a bit.

"This is the alleyway he went down." Run said as he followed Esdeath. They all noted the amount of bandits that were deceased were remarkably low. They exited into a street, and besides a small group of slaughtered bandits, there were no other bodies. "For the reputation he has, I expected more bloodshed."

"There probably weren't a lot of people over here." Kurome said, looking around them. "Most of these buildings look like houses, nothing overly important to protect." The young girl bit into one of her cookies as they walked, and Run hummed at that prospect.

"Well, it looks like something happened over there." Bols said while pointing ahead where there was a bit of rubble next to a house. They all went over there, and when they rounded the corner of the next street they found their other two companions. Koro was chewing on a leg in the street, amongst a large amount of drying blood in the street. Seryu appeared to be talking up a storm with Adrien, and they were both not bothered in the slightest that there was a burley man's body next to them. Adrien however was the most striking, as he no longer had his gauntlets, helmet, and instead of his usual weapons, he was wielding the largest sword any of them had ever seen, which was leaning against him, propped up by his left arm. He also had a very gentle smile on his face, looking at the young guard talk excitedly. "Wow." Bols said, eyeing the sword.

"Wow indeed." Esdeath said, eyeing the knight with an almost dreamy expression. _His smile...its very nice._ Esdeath thought, looking at the smile he wore while talking with Seryu. While she could tell it wasn't a wholly innocent smile, it still made her heart flutter. It was so gentle, caring, and to a degree, pure.

"Captain! Everyone!" Seryu shouted joyfully upon seeing her teammates, and Adrien also looked to them, seeing their mostly shocked faces. Then he saw Esdeath's slightly flushed face, and wondered just what she was blushing about, before he realized she was looking at him.

* * *

 **Author's note**

 **Another chapter done! You might have noticed I put more emphasis on the paragraphs again, instead of dialogue. As you all (probably) know, I'm still pretty new to writing, so I'm trying to find my writing style. I don't know if ya'll have noticed or not, but I feel like I've wavered from how I was writing originally. Tell me what you think.**

 **Now I'd like to say something about the weapons you've seen so far. Adrien has been using the basic knight shield, and the lothric knight straight sword in order to reduce his presence on the streets, but since he's an active part of the jaegers you can expect some more pyromancys, and unique weapons. And yes I am saving the firelink great sword for a special occasion.**

 **What about Miracles and Sorceries? Well you can see some, as with the death of Andre, he basically absorbed all of the Firelink's power. However his build is mostly based off of strength with a bit of dexterity and Intelligence. Adrien on a normal level has very little faith, but he has enough intelligence to use soul stream. So you might be able to expect that in the future. ;) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11-Soul of the General Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga kill**

 **Soul of the General part 2**

Akame sat in her room within Night Raid's hideout, cleaning her imperial arms with the light of the moon and candles to giver her vision. Due to the nature of her weapon, Murasame, she had to be very careful. If she were to cut herself, she could wind up dead from the poison. At least thats what she told everyone. Normally her expression while cleaning her sword would be one of focus, but today her brow was furrowed, her mind still wracking itself over one subject. Adrien's Golden flask. It's mysterious healing properties aside, she could have sworn Bulat had it when they had fled. However it was nowhere on his body, and after searching the area of the battle Neither, Leone, Tatsumi, or Lubbock could find the miracle flask. Perhaps they dropped it? Perhaps Adrien already had it? If so, then nothing would change, but still, it was curious to her how it just disappeared. Much like Adrien's body had.

A soft knocking came from her door, and her crimson eyes locked with the wooden opening. She called for them to enter. Upon her request, Sheele opened the door with a soft smile. Akame put down her sword, and nodded at her. Sheele fully entered the room, and shut the door behind her. She kneeled down to where Akame had been cleaning with care. "Hello Akame." At her greeting, Akame nodded, waiting to see what Sheele needs. As a leader, she need to be sure to listen to any concerns that the rest of them might have. "Um, I was wondering, You've accepted a new target right?" At this, Akame nodded. "So what will I be doing in the mission?"

"Nothing." Akame quickly replied, and before Sheele asked, Akame explained herself. "You've been out of practice for a while, and given the injuries you've sustained, we need to be sure your up to taking on missions. Its not that I don't think you can accomplish a mission, but we need to be sure you won't wind up hurting yourself again." Sheele looked down in a bit of shame, recent events still rather fresh in her mind, and not allowing her to accidentally forget it.

"I-I see." Sheele went to get up, but before she could leave, Akame called to her again.

"Sheele, tomorrow we'll be going Danger beast hunting. I'll see if you can still hold your own." Akame said, and Sheele nodded, a determined expression on her face. Akame smiled gently as the purple assassin left the room, leaving Akame to clean her sword.

* * *

"How do you even lift that thing!?" Wave asked with disbelief and surprise, still gawking at the sword Adrien was wielding. He was more so surprised with that, he mostly ignored his facial features. The knight was holding a massive purplish and rough sword, and was no longer wearing his helmet or his gantlets. The jaegers were observing him, most of their faces in shock, interest, or in Bols case, was unknown.

"Training." Adrien said simply, and hefted the sword to where the handle was hovering over the wooden box on his hip, before he opened it up and began to lower it. Wave looked at him like he was crazy, before the box began to glow just slightly, and seemed to shrink the sword as the blade entered it. Wave decided not to say anything else.

"So I assume all this was you two's doing?" Run asked, looking at the corpses next to them, and Seryu swiftly nodded. Her excitement not dying down a bit.

"Yea, and they were both imperial arms users!" Seryu said, at which, Run's eyes widened slightly. "Adrien took care of most of the work, I just finished them off. He would have taken care of both of them even without me." Seryu said confidently, and Esdeath hummed at that assertion with a smile on her face. The general was observing the battlefield, combing it for the story it told. Something she had learned to do while outside of the capital, on her many campaigns against various tribes.

"There was one more though." Adrien said, reclaiming his sword and shield from his box. "I critically injured her at the beginning of the fight, and one of them took her away somewhere. I haven't seen her since." Esdeath nodded curtly.

"If she's injured, then she can't, and couldn't have gone far. Wave, Run, go find her." Esdeath ordered quickly, and her two subordinates nodded before running off down the road. She turned toward Adrien, and saw that Kurome and Dr. Stylish were in front of him. Kurome was also looking at Adrien with a hard suspicious look.

"How did you get those eyes?" Kurome quickly asked, her tone almost threatening. Adrien and even the other Jaegers looked at her oddly. "Your eyes are red. Theres only one person I know that has red eyes." Kurome glared at him, and Adrien matched it.

"Is there something wrong with my appearance? I will put my helmet on shortly." Kurome softens her gaze immediately, her suspicion seeming to disappear. _What did she mean by that?_ Adrien thought to himself. _Although, that Akame girl had red eyes, perhaps they are related? If so, then is she suspicious I may be in leagues with her? But how would that make sense?_ Dr stylish coughed, breaking the awkward silence that had transcended before them.

"Well, I must say Adrien if these were in fact Imperial arms users, then we should have no problems with trusting your abilities in combat." Dr. Stylish said with interest, and Seryu nodded in affirmation. Adrien then fished out his gauntlets and helmet from his box, and slipped them on. "Also, just how are you doing that? That box of yours must hold quite a bit. Is it your imperial arms?" Adrien looked at him for a few seconds, but did not get a chance to respond.

"It is most likely his imperial arms that holds many other Shingu within." Esdeath suddenly said, adding herself to the conversation. "Isn't that right, Adrien?" She asked coyly, as if she had caught him red-handed. The other members of the Jaegers that were there looked at Adrien, waiting for his response.

"I suppose you could say that." Adrien said with a bit of uncertainty, but it was a convenient excuse. _I have not heard of these 'Shingu' before, but if they are similar to imperial arms then I should watch for anyone that wields one._ Adrien saw that They all seemed satisfied with that answer, if not still very surprised, but Esdeath looked as if she was eyeing down a morsel of food. Staring right at him. _She keeps looking at me oddly, I am not sure if I should be concerned._ At that time, both Wave and Run returned.

"We couldn't find anyone else." Wave said with a straight face, signaling his concern. "We searched everywhere, even with Run's wings, we couldn't find anymore signs of life within the fort." Esdath's face hardened a bit upon hearing that, but a calm smile soon returned

"Its fine, we've done well here today, one person will not change that. Besides, I believe it is time to return to the capital anyway." Esdeath said, and soon the group of imperial arms users were heading back to the capital. Thankfully there was nothing they really needed to pack, or gather, as all they had brought with them was their weapons. As they left the fortress, Adrien was looking back at the now burning fortress, thanks to Bols' imperial arms. Bols himself was at the back of the group of jaegers, acting as the rear guard. Adrien slowed down, and was now walking alongside the large man. Even though Adrien was rather tall himself, Bols was still nearly a full head taller than the knight.

"Ah, hello Adrien. Is there something you needed?" Bols asked politely. _He hasn't really said very much since joining us._ Bols thought to himself. _I wonder why hes back here with me now?_

"No, I was going to help you guard our rear. That is all." Adrien responded curtly, and Bols nodded in understanding. If he was somehow taken out, and no one ahead noticed, they'd be wide open for an attack. It made sense to have some extra protection. As they all walked, neither Adrien or Bols said a word, content to walk in silence, occasionally looking around for threats. The other jaegers appeared to be caught in idle banter, particularly Seryu and Dr Stylish, who appeared to be discussing a potential outfit for Adrien.

Adrien found the quiet between him and Bols rather comforting. Between the meeting with the emperor, talking with Esdeath, meeting the jaegers, and the attack on the fortress, it was nice to have a moment of respite. On the way here, Seryu had been talking to him non-stop, and never let anyone ask anything pertaining to the knight. He didn't mind it, as Seryu was one of few he would call a friend here. While he now knew the jaegers were powerful warriors, he did not necessarily trust them. Especially Esdeath.

"Adrien?" Bols suddenly said, breaking the silence between them. Adrien looked toward the man, and taking that as a signal to continue, Bols asked. "Do you have any family? If you don't mind me asking of course." Bols was hesitant to say or ask anything to the knight, but his curiosity about the man got the better of him.

"I did. Now I have the Firekeeper, I suppose you could call her my family." Adrien says after a moment to think about the question. _I might also consider Patches part of my family, but only the Firekeeper knows about him._ Bols looked at him, and while the knight couldn't see his face, he knew he was thinking hard.

"I see, I'm sorry." Bols said sadly. _He did have a family, but only has that Firekeeper? I can't imagine what he's gone through. I'm lucky enough to have such a loving one of my own._ Adrien looked forward again, and several moments of silence passed again, before it was broken again.

"Do you have a family?" Adrien asked, and Bols nodded silently, but continued looking forward.

"I do, a loving wife and daughter." Bols said, trying to contain his excitement about talking about his family, taking Adrien into account. "I'm so lucky to have them, and In all honesty I don't deserve them. They may come to visit one day, so you may be able to meet them." Adrien nodded, seeming to not care too much.

"I look forward to it." Adrien said simply, and Bols was a bit surprised at the response, but was not disappointed.

* * *

"Whew! I'm beat!" Wave said with exasperation as he and the rest of the jaegers arrived in the part of the palace that housed them. Most of the team shared his sentiment, but simply did not voice it. "I'm heading to bed, see you guys in the morning." Wave walked to where his room was, and the rest of the team seemed to do the same. As Adrien approached his room's door, he could see the guards stationed outside haven't moved. They would change shifts later that night, but Adrien was thankful the guards were reliable. Before he could go any further, a hand found it's way onto his shoulder. He turned around to see it was Esdeath smiling, a rather pleasant expression on her face.

"Adrien, would you mind joining me in my room for a moment?" Esdeath asked gently, and as much as it sounded like a request, Adrien knew it was an order. He nodded, and the two of them walked further down the hall, swiftly approaching a larger door than the others in the hall. The unkindled surmised it was her bedroom door, but couldn't help but notice that there were no guards there. _One of the most important people in the empire, and no guards? She must be rather confident in her abilities._ Adrien thought to opened the door, and ushered him in. The bedroom was very much like Esdeath herself, cool, calm, colors, but despite this, it all had an air of something more underneath it. There was a large bed in the center of the room, and a couch with a table in front of it, where a bottle of wine and two glasses sat. "Please, take a seat." Esdeath said cooly, and Adrien complied, the undead finding a place on the couch.

Esdeath closed the door, and locked it, before turning back toward the couch, and approached the waiting knight. She couldn't help but try to sashay her hips a bit, but whether or not he noticed, she couldn't tell. She sat down right next to him, and began to uncork the bottle of wine. Wordlessly she poured them both a drink, and sat back a bit In the couch, getting comfortable. Adrien looked at the now full wineglass like it would suddenly start to move on its own and attack him. _He doesn't look very comfortable, I should tell him to drink it, that way he'll relax a little._ Esdeath thought as she observed Adrien.

"It won't hurt you know, have a taste." Esdeath encouraged. Adrien looked back at her, his helmet masking his expression, before he faced forward agin, took off his helmet, and took up the glass. Esdeath sipped on her own drink as she watched her newest member sip his. Although he gave no reaction to the taste. "This is some of the best wine in the empire, its fermented for a long time. Do you like it?" She asked simply.

"It is fine." Adrien said, his face still quite emotionless. "Why did you want me here?" At his question, Esdeath giggled, before leaning back forward, and looked at him, a small smile gracing her lips.

"I told you before that you interest me, do you remember?" Esdeath asked, and Adrien nodded, turning his gaze to meet Esdeath's own. "Well, after witnessing you in combat, I decided then and there, you would be...mine." Adrien gave no reaction, other than narrowing his eyes a bit.

"But you never saw me in combat." The unkindled pointed out. _She couldn't have, or else she would most likely be asking me about my pyromancies more than anything._ Esdeath giggled again, the tone of the laugh sounded more like that fact was obvious.

"Perhaps it was something else then, but what I said earlier still remains, I want you. And I want you to want me." Her eyes were gentle, but she also conveyed that there was no choice in the matter, or there would be consequences. Esdeath herself meant to convey this, and to her mild surprise, Adrien's eyes widened upon hearing her declaration.

"You would not want me as a partner." Adrien said, his eyes telling her that what he said was the truth. "I would recommend looking to anyone else but me." Esdeath frowned upon hearing this. _If he had openly rejected me or tried to run away, it would have been amusing for him to find out that I wouldn't allow that. However, for him to say...that. Almost makes me pity him, does he think so low of himself? Or is he trying to dissuade me from choosing him._ Esdeath thought, and gazed into Adrien eyes, looking for any sign of a lie or bluff, but found none. _He is...being genuine. No matter, he will still be mine. One way or another._

"I appreciate your concern, but my feelings have not changed, I still want you. And no one else." Adrien's eyes narrowed at that.

"So is this an order?" He asked coldly, and Esdeath a a bit taken aback by that.

"Well, not technically, but I will make you mine, whether you are willing to be or not." She said a bit dangerously, but also with an almost sadistic smile on her face. Adrien paused, thinking about his next answer. _Even if she is my commanding officer, this is not an order by her own admission. But given what shes said, she would try to use physical violence to make me submit to her._ Adrien was unsure of what to do, as if what she wanted was a proper and strong mate, then she would not find it in him. Undead can not re-produce, as why would a being with no life be capable of making a new one? If Esdeath found out about this, would she care, or would she be resentful? Would she want to become one herself so she could spend much longer with him? Would she harm the Firekeeper if they became a 'couple'? All of these questions plagued the undead's mind, which lead him to make his decision.

"As you wish." Adrien said simply, and Esdeath smiled with glee. Before she realized something about Adrien's tone.

"Your not happy about it are you?" Esdeath asked with a pout, to which Adrien simply nodded. "Come now, it won't be bad. I promise." At that, Esdeath faced him fully, positioning her body so it was in full view for the knight. "I won't have any other loves, you will be my only man. And I promise to love you until the end of us both. I will be solely yours, and you will be solely mine." Esdeath was attempting to sweeten the deal, for she wouldn't be satisfied until he was completely committed to their relationship. Unfortunately, her words gave the knight no consolation, and she could tell. He wasn't even trying to hide it, instead. Looking at her with a rather blank expression. She wanted to see that smile again. "Adrien, are you going to be like this for the rest of your life?"

"What do you mean?" Adrien tilted his head slightly, and Esdeath sighed.

"I mean giving me that emotionless gaze? Not to say I necessarily dislike it, but I remember seeing you smile when Seryu was talking to you. Why don't you smile for me?" Esdeath asked with a bit of a smirk, trying to somewhat guild him. It didn't work.

"I'm not a good actor. If I smile it is out of genuine amusement or happiness. If I don't, then I am not feeling those emotions." Esdeath's eyes went wide for a bit, now realizing he hadn't smiled once since they had been talking. It shouldn't have been surprising, but after she had more or less poured her heart out, he had basically told her he didn't feel happy around her.

"Fine then." Esdeath said sternly. "I'll get you to feel genuine about me soon enough." She smiled, with a glint of excitement in her eyes. "Now why don't we go to bed? For this first night, I promise I won't do anything, but if you want to, I won't be opposed to it."

* * *

The Firekeeper sat in her and the ashen one's room awaiting his return. She heard voices, and a general commotion outside after several hours, but while she heard the ashen one's footsteps, he never came in. She was admittedly worried, as she never heard his footsteps again until long after the guards changed shifts. Which indicated he had been gone all night. She was quite bored, as when she was at firelink, the other patrons would occasionally chat with her, but she heard his footsteps drawing closer, and before long, he opened the door.

"Ashen one." The Firekeeper said, as the unkindled closed the door, and approached her. "Art thou alright? Thou hast been gone for quite a while." The Firekeeper could feel the ashen one look at her, but she herself could not see. She then felt a hand place itself on her shoulder.

"I apologize, but General Esdeath wished to talk to me for some time. We will discuss this later, but for now." Adrien said, letting go of the Firekeeper's shoulder. "Are you alright?" At his question, the Firekeeper nodded before she lowed her head a bit.

"Ashen one? Is this truly for the best? Being so close to such Dark is...Unpleasant." Adrien was a bit shocked by her answer. "I can bear it, but dost the emperor still consider thine words?" Adrien nodded, before he kneeled next to her.

"Is there anyway I can help?" The unkindled's words were spoken out of nothing but kindness and concern, and that in of itself made the Firekeeper feel all the more better. While still technically his servant, he was always kind to her, forgiving, understanding, and for that she could not help but feel close to the unkindled.

"Perhaps something to distract me from the dark? Some snacks perhaps? Or drink? While I do not need them, it would help me deal with being do close." Adrien nodded, and while the Firekeeper couldn't see it, he was sure she could still tell.

"Then why don't you join me and the jaegers for breakfast." At Adrien's offer, the Firekeeper smiled thankfully. He gently helped her up, and led her to the door, and out of the room. As they walked toward where the jaegers often congregated, the Firekeeper could tell that the Ashen one was in a bitter mood. Being an undead meant many feelings and senses were greatly dulled. Even still, she could tell something was bothering the unkindled. Then she heard him open a door, along with voices from the other side.

"So you trust him?" Wave asked Seryu as they ate, along with their team leader. All the members of the jaegers, barring Adrien, were sitting at the breakfast table, enjoying their meals. "Not to say he's a bad guy, but doesn't he seem a bit...Sketchy?" Just before Seryu could respond, the door opened, revealing Adrien, along with an unfamiliar blonde woman. Wave did a double take upon seeing the fair woman. She was so... "Pretty." Thankfully no one paid attention to that last comment.

"Mr Adrien! You brought the Firekeeper!" Seryu said excitedly as the knight approached the table, with the Firekeeper in tow. The other jaegers looked at the guest in interest. Esdeath, who seemed to be enjoying her meal, suddenly found a frown creeping upon her face.

"Ah, Seryu, It is pleasing to meet with thou again." The Firekeeper said with a smile as Seryu got up, and approached them. Adrien let Seryu gently take the Firekeeper's hand as the young girl led her to the table, seeming to know exactly why she was there. Adrien was a bit surprised at her forwardness in helping the Firekeeper.

"So your going to join us for breakfast?" Seryu asked, to which the Firekeeper nodded. Seryu led her to a seat between her and Wave, the young man having gotten over the woman's appearance upon noting the mask over her eyes, and how carefully she was being treated. The other jaegers seemed to notice this as well. The fact that she was blind.

"Ah, I see" Bols said, observing the Firekeeper, before turning an understanding gaze toward Adrien. Kurome and Run didn't seem to have much of a reaction, but did notice her condition. Dr. Stylish was looking at her with keen interest, thinking of ways he could use a blind person for his experiments. He had done it before, but it was still a rather rare occurrence. Esdeath seemed to be glaring at Adrien, one that he did not notice.

"So are you Adrien's...Servant?" Wave asked tentatively, to which the Firekeeper nodded. "Huh. I was thinking he had some kind of Maid or something when I heard of you." Seryu couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Oh no, The Firekeeper is more than just a maid to Adrien!" Seryu said innocently, and before anyone could cast glances, Esdeath suddenly stood up.

"I have a bit of an announcement to make. One I was waiting on Adrien to arrive to make." Esdeath announced, which got everyone's attention. "From this point forward, Adrien will be my lover, and subsequently will also be trained by me. That is all." Esdeath sat back down with a shit-eating grin, as most of the jaegers looked between her and Adrien in shock. Even the Firekeeper's normally stoic face had a sense of surprise on it.

"Congratulations!" Dr. Stylish said as he clasped his hands together. "Oh! I'll have to get you two some matching clothes. I think you'd look nice in some military clothes Adrien." He said with a hand on his chin, thinking of potential designs.

"Congratulations Mr. Adrien!" Seryu said next, her excitement barely contained. "This is the best! Our team leader and my best friend are lovers now! So does this mean Adrien is our second in command? Is he going to be on more missions, or less? If you guys have kids can I play with them?" That last question caught Esdeath off-guard, as she coughed a bit, accompanied by her cheeks flushing up.

"I think its a bit early for that Seryu." Bols said, trying to calm the young girl down. "I'd also like to offer my congratulations." He continued, looking up at Adrien, who gave no response to any of the 'praise' he was receiving. Wave and Kurome nodded, but they seemed to notice his reservedness.

"Thank you, now, we don't have a proper mission for the day, instead, we will be going Danger beast hunting. Me, Adrien, Wave, and Kurome will all be going." Esdeath said, to which the rest of the jaegers nodded, except for Adrien, who just listened. "The rest of you are to stay here, and simply help guard the palace." After her announcement, the jaegers swiftly finished up their meals, and began to get ready for the rest of the day. The Firekeeper was about to leave for her room, with Adrien accompanying her, before Seryu stopped them.

"Mr Adrien? Can the Firekeeper stay with me today? I can show her around the palace." Seryu offered, and the knight looked at the Firekeeper, who looked a bit...dejected.

"Do you want to?" Adrien asked gently, and the Firekeeper nodded.

"I wish to explore a bit more. Thank you, Seryu." The Firekeeper said, with both joy and sadness fighting for dominance in her voice. Seryu looked thrilled, as she took the Firekeeper's hands.

"I'd like to go with them, if you don't mind." Bols suddenly said from behind them, he being the only other jaeger member around them. "I can help show her around, and maybe a more temperate voice would help." Bols said a bit sheepishly, and then Adrien approached him. Even though Bols was taller, he couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by Adrien's visage. He remained silent for a moment, before Adrien extended his hand to the taller man.

"I'd most appreciate it."

* * *

Wave and Adrien walked together down a dirt path by a rocky gorge, with brush and trees lining their path. Esdeath and Kurome were in another part of the same area, but a bit far from the two men. Wave did not attempt to converse with the knight, but neither did Adrien try to talk with him. They already knew what they were looking for, Danger beasts. Any kind really, but both of them were hoping they wouldn't be too hard to defeat. _Man, whats with this guy?_ Wave asked himself as they walked. _He has a blind servant, is apparently very strong, but also kind, and he's now General Esdeath's lover!? I don't get it. I've barely even heard of this guy before yesterday._ As Wave thought this, he felt a presence behind him, and when he turned around, he saw a pair of yellow eyes glaring at him through the brush. He readied his sword, and glanced over to Adrien, to see him still walking down the trail.

"Adrien!" Wave shouted, with both annoyance and urgency in his voice. The knight turned around, only for a large cat-like creature to burst from the trees next to him, tackling him, and sending both of them down into the gorge. "Damn it!" He exclaimed, before dodging a lunge from the first one he saw in the brush. He swiftly slashed down at the assailant, blood gushing from the new wound. As the creature fell, Wave could see that it was big cat-like Danger beast, but the most notable feature was it's large frontal fangs. Wave then turned his attention to where Adrien and the other danger beast had fallen, only to see the knight against the rock wall, surrounded by a dozen of them, with more coming in from all sides. He swiftly jumped down to help his comrade.

Adrien was accustomed to fighting beasts like these, however that did not mean he was happy about it. These 'Danger Beasts' resembled those undead Dogs to an unholy extent, with their erratic movements and horde mentality. Several tried to attack him at once, but he sliced through the air with his straight sword, hitting all three, and causing blood to spill on the battlefield. Before they could retreat, he swung two more times, the beasts being sliced apart rather easily thanks to the upgrading of the weapon. While not infused, the Lothric knight straight sword was still a handy weapon when upgraded sufficiently. Wave landed next to him, and the unkindled looked at his younger compatriot with a nod. Wave nodded with a determined gaze, before readying himself against the danger beasts.

Two more beasts attempted to jump on Adrien, but he raised his shield, the two of them slamming into it with a resounding smack. Two others lunged at Wave, but he jumped up above them, and while mid-air, he swung wide, and downwards at the beasts, decapitating them before they hit the ground. The two of them continued to slaughter the beasts with considerable ease. Although their numbers were increasing. Wave was trying to devise a way to escape, before a large growl gained both their attention, and the beasts. The two jaeger members looked up to see a house sized version of one of the beasts sitting perched on a large rock formation within the grey stone gorge. It jumped down to their location, a massive trembling in the earth immediately following.

"I think thats the uh...alpha." Wave said with a nervous gulp, while Adrien raised his shield, unsure of what the new creature might do. The smaller ones backed away from the jaegers as the bigger one stepped forward. A challenge. Adrien and Wave, after a moment of hesitation, stepped forward as well. The danger beast wasted no time, and rushed the two of them, hoping it's size and weight would be enough to kill them outright. Wave jumped up high, and to the left to avoid the attack, while Adrien simply rolled underneath the beast. Wave touched the ground only for a moment, before launching himself at the beast's left front leg. The large cat lifted it's paw up in time, and brought it back down on the unsuspecting man.

Before the Danger beast could hope to lean it's full weight on him however, and excruciating pain reached it's way from it's right paw. It reared back, releasing the young one from it's grip. It noticed it's right front paw now had a large gash in it thanks to Adrien, who had went underneath it. The knight was attempting to run underneath it again, but the Danger beast lowered it's head to be level with the knight, and snapped at the knight once he got close. The undead had put up his shield, but the danger beast simply used it's mouth to bite on Adrien whole, lifting him up, and throwing him where Wave was.

"Alright then, I guess its time to get serious." Wave said, before planting the tip of his sword into the ground. "Grand Chariot!" He exclaimed, before the ground around him seemed to burst with blue light, and a monster seemed to appear from behind him. Before he knew it, he was clad in Grand Chariot, his armor imperial arms. Its Dark blue, almost black, design was striking, and it's transparent prismatic film on the armor's back gave the armor a very advanced look. "You ready Adrien?" Wave asked, looking to his companion in his armor, and at first he got no response, before Adrien asked a simple question.

"How high can you throw me?" That question made Wave's mind stop for a moment, wondering if he was hearing things.

"What?" Wave asked, more to himself than to Adrien.

"How high can you throw me?" Adrien asked again, and Wave started to think about it.

"Pretty high I guess? Why?" Adrien looked at the large Danger beast, who was waiting on them to make a move, obviously hesitant due to Wave's new appearance.

"Do it." Wave paused, before he nodded, deciding to trust the mysterious man. Wave grabbed the knight by the armpits, and jumped high into the air, much higher than before thanks to Grand Chariot. Wave then threw Adrien while mid-air, further into the sky. Wave came back down quickly, and reared his fist back to strike the Danger beast. The creature was quick though, and dodged, before attempting to grab onto Wave's armor. Wave used Grand Chariot's flight ability to thrust himself out of harms way. He reared back again, and managed to slam his fist into the side of the beast's maw, causing it's head to be thrown to the side a bit.

The creature glared at Wave with malice, and was about to retaliate, before something heavy crashed into its' head, sending the creature's skull straight to the ground, blood and brain matter covering the ground around it like paint. Some of the gore even found itself onto the nearby smaller Danger beasts, and Wave himself. He was still able to see the damage. The creature's head had been forcefully brought down, leaving it in a bowing like position, it's eyes were popping out of it's head, and blood was flowing from it's mouth. The worst of the damage was the very top of the skull which was completely caved in, leaving a carter where the brain should be, pieces of the skull were visible, but often coated in blood or brain tissue. There standing in the middle of it all, was what Wave assumed to be Adrien.

'Adrien' was dressed in odd gray-ish armor, that made him seem taller than before. It had the look of normal armor, but the plates were much thicker than normal. It was also very rough looking, but it did cover nearly every square inch of his body. The strangest thing though, was that it did not look like it was made of metal, it looked like it was made of stone.

Adrien stepped out of the crater of a skull he had made, Havel's boots making his walking slow and cumbersome. While the armor was protective, he couldn't wield a singe weapon with it on, making it impractical, if not dangerous, most of the time. In this case however, it had done a good job of creatively disposing of a large enemy. As he managed to step away from the corpse, Wave seemed to float down to the ground in front of him.

"Adrien?" Wave asked tentatively.

"Yes?" Adrien responded normally, as if nothing had just occurred. Wave sighed with relief, although, he wasn't sure what exactly he was worried about. The smaller Danger beasts gathered around the corpse of their leader, whimpering, before they set their sights on the two who had committed the act.

"Looks like its not over yet." Wave said, readying himself. A particularly angry one charged them, only to be punched by Adrien, the force and weight of the attack killing the creature near instantly. Another pounced him, but Adrien grabbed the beast by the throat, slammed it on the ground, and stomped on it's head, blood and gore splaying around him. The others were much more hesitant. One more launched at Adrien, before being punched by Wave, his speed causing the beast's neck to snap, killing it. The others fled, seeing the fight that they could not win.

"It looks like its over now." Adrien answered back, referencing what Wave had said not a few seconds earlier. Wave couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

"Oh? So you killed quite a few did you?" Esdeath said with interest as she observed the small mountain of pelts that Adrien and Wave were carrying. One struggling, the other not. "You didn't have to skin them, you know." At this, Wave let out a frustrated huff, before setting his side of the pile down, Adrien following

"I told you! But no! You said it would be a waste, and Esdeath wouldn't be fond of just leaving them there." Wave said with annoyance, but not much anger. Kurome bit into one of her cookies as she watched the two males approach closer.

"I thought this could also help with any expenses the Jaeger's might incur on our missions." Adrien explained further, looking at Esdeath. The General couldn't help but smile at her 'lover'

"Always thinking of a way to help, how thoughtful. Well, I'm sure we can find a way to use them." after a moment, Esdeath looked at the pile of furs with curiosity overcoming her features. "Why don't you just put them in that box of yours instead of carrying them?" There was a moment of silence, before Adrien looked at the furs, and then at his box on his hip.

"I had not thought of that." Adrien responded calmly, and while Esdeath and Kurome didn't really think much of it, Wave certainly did.

"Oh Come On!"

* * *

It was long after sunset as the four members returned, one more tired than the rest, and they all approached their chambers. However Adrien was heading toward his 'assigned room' and Esdeath couldn't allow that. As Adrien was about to open the door, Esdeath once again stopped him.

"Come now, I know she's your servant, but you must learn to sleep in my bed from now on." Esdeath said wistfully, and Adrien looked back at her, now back into his normal fallen knight armor. The guards on either side of the door stepped away for a moment. He appraised her for a moment, before he continued to reach for the doorknob.

"I need to check on her." Adrien insisted, but Esdeath gripped his wrist hard.

"Then you can wait till the morning." Esdeath said, her voice becoming just slightly venomous.

"I insist." Adrien put the force on, using as much strength as he could in his forearm, and Esdeath did the same. To his surprise, she was holding him back, but both of their hands were shaking from using this much strength. A small crack was heard as their combined force was starting to crack the floor below Adrien's feet. Then the door opened, revealing the Firekeeper.

"Ashen one?" The Firekeeper asked with concern, and Esdeath let go of him, and looked at the two of them with disdain.

"Thats it, Adrien, as my lover you will need to learn to obey my commands. I've given you enough times already, and I can see this will be a problem in the future." Esdeath said dangerously, causing the undead to look at her. Her gaze was a mix of anger and determination as she glared at him. That glare softened though, as it was replaced by a sadistic smile, and an almost anticipatory look in her eyes. "As such, tomorrow...we shall duel."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Happy Halloween!**

 **I was hoping I'd release this by Halloween night, and thankfully I was right. Now, I have a bit of an announcement to make, I recently ended my old konosuba story (my first one) and so now I'm going to be starting a new project, and...I actually want to start two. (If I can write three stories at once) One is going to be a fallout 4/RWBY crossover. I know a lot of people don't really like fallout 4, but I think the gameplay mechanics of customizing your weapon could fit rather well into the RWBYverse.**

 **So what about my other story I want to start? Well, I actually wanted to give you guys a choice. (Poll time) I may come back to one of these Ideas in the future so that doesn't mean you can't have one without the other, but one will simple by my next story I'll make.**

 **Option 1. Overlord X Avengers (The one I like more)**

 **I think this would be a really cool combo, and really only two people have attempted it, both of which haven't been updated in a long time. Needless to say, Nazarick will be in the Avenger's earth. The concept is one I really enjoy, and I would love to attempt to pull it off for you guys!**

 **Option 2. Fairy Tail X Pokemon**

 **What if someone was turned into mew, and was suddenly sent to Magnolia town? Who knows what kind of hilarity would ensue? Its a simple premise, but with a lot of potential. Not sure about the big picture just ye though hehe. Granted this wasn't...like... my only other Idea, but my other one is another fate/fic. One that I haven't quite fleshed out.**

 **So theres your options for my second fic that I want to start. I'll probably end the poll around the end of November.**

 **So yea! I'll be starting a new fic! That will be next thing you see out of my profile, and after that probably another blades chapter before I start on my other new fic. Thats about it for tonight, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12-Soul of the General part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the General part 3**

The Firekeeper walked with the rest of the Jaegers down a walkway that bordered the central castle building early in the morning. A bit too early for some of the members. However the Firekeeper never got a wink of sleep, remembering what happened last night. Adrien never had a chance to dissuade Esdeath from her challenge, as the general had left immediately afterward. Then in the wee hours of the morning a messenger had arrived at their door, telling Adrien to meet Esdeath by the west wing training area. The rest of the Jaegers were going to come as well, but only later. Adrien had instructed her to travel with the Jaegers when they left. So now she was walking with the team of hunters, heading to what she knew was going to be a duel. Although she could not see them, she knew that Bols and Seryu were walking next to her.

* * *

 **(Yesterday)**

The Firekeeper sat down with Seryu and Koro in a flower patch, and the young guard was telling the Firekeeper about all the weapons that had been crafted for her by Dr. Stylish. The Firekeeper enjoyed talking with the young woman, but wished it had been a different topic. She was not well versed in many of the concepts Seryu was talking about. Thankfully Bols was there as well.

"So how are you enjoying the palace so far Ms...Firekeeper?" Bols asked, unsure of how to address the lady. He was sitting in the flower patch as well, but a bit farther away from the two girls. The Firekeeper turned to the man, and while he could not see her eyes, he could tell she felt...conflicted.

"Its nice, but there is an ov'rwhelming presence i senseth, and it doth quite disturb me." The Firekeeper said. While she could have told them how she was sensitive to humanity, she knew telling them that would only lead to more questions, and confusion. "You may address me as simply Firekeeper if thou desires."

"Oh, alright then." Bols said nervously.

"Why are you called the Firekeeper anyway? Don't you have a name?" Seryu asked innocently, and while Bols was curious too, he was tempted to scold the young woman for asking what was probably a sensitive topic.

"I hath never been given a 'name' I was always called by mine title, The Firekeeper." Bols and Seryu looked at her in shock and disbelief. _She doesn't have a name!?_ Seryu thought to herself. _How could her parents have never given her a name!?_ Seryu then stood up with a determined gaze on her face, and while she knew the Firekeeper couldn't see it, she didn't care.

"Then we'll come up with a name for you!" Seryu said with great determination. "Right Bols!?" She asked the gas mask wearing man sitting a few steps from them. He was a bit surprised by her outburst, but nodded nonetheless. "Great! Why don't we start." Seryu then sat back down on the ground. Koro seemed a bit confused as to what had happened. "Hmm, how about...Gertrude!" The Firekeeper seemed to want to say something, but Bols spoke up first.

"I don't think a name like that would be appropriate, maybe something more gentle. Like Mable? Or Lucy?" Bols suggested, and Seryu nodded in agreement. Koro yawned as he laid down, trying to catch a nap. The Firekeeper simply sat there, a bit perplexed, but also surprised at the two's efforts.

"Or maybe Hope? Or...Lilith?" Seryu asked, and at the last name, Bols patted his fist into his palm.

"That it! I think Lilith would be a great name!" Bols said with glee, and Seryu smiled with satisfaction.

"What do you think...Lilith?" Seryu asked, addressing the Firekeeper with a smirk. The Firekeeper smiled a bit, at her being addressed with a name rather than a title.

"I appreciate the effort, but If I am to take on a new name, I would like to consult with the Ashen one about it." The Firekeeper asserted, and Seryu nodded.

"Of course! I'm sure he'll love your new name though!" Seryu said with confidence. Bols sighed as he picked a few flowers from around him, and the Firekeeper smiled. Even with their efforts, she couldn't get one particular subject off of her mind, The Ashen one. Just earlier Esdeath had announced that she and the unkindled were going to be 'lovers', and he did not argue with her. _Why had they become a couple?_ The Firekeeper asked herself. _Did he feel that way toward her, is she simply that alluring, or is something else at play here? Was he threatened? Did she threaten me if he did not become hers?_ The Firekeeper continued to question these things, and wonder why any of this was truly happening. The ashen one said it was to stop the abyss, but they simply seem closer to the source, not any closer to stopping it.

While they were relaxing, a figure was watching from a window within the palace, and specifically was staring at the Firekeeper. The figure smiled wickedly, before licking his lips. "Oh what a beautiful specimen you are. I'm sure Father wouldn't mind if I had some fun with you." After which, he cackled madly, looking forward for when he could meet the lady in person.

* * *

 **(Present time)**

As they Jaegers rounded a corner, they saw their destination. A large dirt field was there in front of them, with three familiar faces in the center. Esdeath and Adrien were turned toward each other, while General Budo was standing in between them, but slightly to the side. Like a referee. They also noticed there were two figured on a balcony that was on the palace, looking over the field. Those two figures were The prime minister and the Emperor. The Jaegers were a bit surprised upon seeing the two on the balcony, but more so they were just confused as to what was going on.

"So Esdeath and Adrien are lovers now correct?" The emperor asked Honest as he sat on a chair, looking at the general and knight in question. Honest nodded with a gruff 'Mhm'. "So why are they fighting? I thought the point of being lovers was to 'love' each other?" Honest sighed a bit, as he too looked down at the soon-to-be combatants.

"Esdeath is a very...special lady, and she wants Adrien to know she won't take 'no' for an answer. And likewise I imagine Adrien wants her to know he won't be submitting without a fight." Honest explained, and the emperor's eyes widened a bit.

"Oh! So thats why General Budo is acting as a referee. So they won't wind up seriously hurting each other. Right?" The emperor once again asked, and honest shrugged at that.

"Not entirely sure to be frank with you, your majesty. Esdeath was the one who invited him, not me. That goes with us as well, I only knew about this because she had sent a messenger." The emperor nodded as he watched the field intently. _Ever since Adrien has come here, I've been very fascinated by him, and my digging to this 'corruption' he speaks of is very...concerning._ The emperor thought to himself. _I've only scratched the surface, and already I've discovered official documents that have been scrubbed or altered to fit a narrative, or benefit one particular individual. Already Ive discovered a lot, and I feel like I've only scratched the surface._

"So do you both understand?" Budo questioned Esdeath and Adrien, breaking the emperor from his thoughts. The two in question nodded, and Budo walked to the small, but wide step that separated the field from the paved walkway, where the Jaegers were sitting. The emperor also noticed that the Firekeeper was there with them. "I suppose I should explain whats going on to you, since you still don't know." Budo said to the Jaegers, gaining their full attention. "Esdeath has challenged Adrien to a Duel. You all, the emperor, and the prime minister will all be acting as witnesses, while I will be acting as a referee." Budo's explanation was relatively short and to the point, but that did not stop the Jaeger's mouths from hanging open wide with shock.

"They're fighting!? But why!?" Seryu was the first to ask, and the other jaegers, barring Kurome, also seemed to be curious as to why the two would be fighting.

"Esdeath said she challenged Adrien so she could show him that she was the head of their 'relationship'." Budo explained, putting a sarcastic emphasis on relationship. The Jaegers seemed to understand, but Seryu in particular was concerned. _I know Mr. Adrien's strong, but... Esdeath is the strongest._ She thought while holding Koro close to her chest. "They will begin shortly."

Esdeath and Adrien were roughly fifty feet away from each other on the field, waiting for Budo's signal. Before this, they had agreed to a few conditions for the duel. Mostly it had to do with collateral damage, and if General Budo called the fight, they were both to stop immediately. He told them that if enough damage had been dealt to either one of them, then he would also stop the fight. Esdeath looked at Adrien with an eager grin, while Adrien's helmet gave no indication to his emotion.

"This will also be a good opportunity to see where you can improve." Esdeath said cooly, and Adrien shifted ever so slightly. "Besides, now I won't just see or hear of your strength, I'll be able to feel it as well." Adrien said nothing, nor did he do anything, he simply stood there, listening. Esdeath frowned a bit at the non-response, but figured that was normal with him. General Budo then shot his hand up while facing the field, and his voice carried throughout the area.

"Begin!"

* * *

As Tatsumi ate his dinner with the rest of Night Raid, He couldn't help but feel like something was different, something was off, as if the aura around him was telling him something bad was coming. He looked around the room to see none of his fellow assassins seemed disturbed by anything, in fact, they seemed happier than usual as Sheele had gone danger beast hunting yesterday, and proved that she had not lost her skills. Tatsumi's unease seemed to be noticed by Mine, who looked at him from across the table with a critical gaze.

"Whats up with you? Something in your food?" Mine said with a scolding tone, and Tatsumi huffed at her attitude.

"Oh me? Nothing, just lost my appetite by looking at your face." Tatsumi said with snark levels going through the roof. Leone nearly chocked on her drink at that.

"Thats too bad then, more food for me!" Mine teased back, but Tatsumi could tell she was a bit annoyed by his antics.

"Thats good, because you sure nee-" Before Tatsumi could finish that, the door to the dining room slammed open, revealing both Lubbock, and Najenda.

"I'm back!" Najenda announced curtly, and the rest of Night Raid at the table welcomed her back with warm greetings. "And I brought gifts!" She added, which caused the members to lok at her with a bit of confusion, except for Leone, who looked ecstatic.

"Oh yea! So what you brig me boss?" Leone asked with greed in her voice. "Did you get me a juicy hunk I can play with?" She asked with tease, and Akame's eyes widened at this.

"A juicy hunk of meat? If so, can I have one as well?" Akame asked innocently, to which both Leone and Tatsumi looked at her dumbly.

"No, no meat, and no juicy hunks, but instead three new recruits!" Najenda announced happily at which the members of Night Raid's eyes widened. "C'mon in, and meet your new teammates." Najenda seemed to call down the hall to her left, and moved further into the room, with Lubbock following. The First one to enter was a tall man with blue hair, wearing a white robe, and had distinctive white horns coming from the sides of his head. He seemed to have a serious expression on his face as well.

"My name is Susanoo, it is a pleasure to meet you all. I hope we all get along. " He said calmly, and the rest of Night Raid gave their greeting, Tatsumi simply nodding to the newcomer. He moved to stand beside Najenda, the boss not having much of a reaction to it. Then another individual stepped through the doorway. She was a young woman with pink hair and reddish eyes. She had a pair of butterfly headphones on her head, while she wore what appeared to be proper vocalist attire, common for performers in theaters or amphitheaters. She was also sucking on a lollipop.

"Name's Chelsea, nice to meet you all." The girl said, as she scanned the room. "So you all are Night Raid huh? Well, I hope we all work together well enough ok?" The rest of Night Raid nodded a bit hesitantly, as the way she toned her greeting made it feel as if she was criticizing them. She cheerily skipped to an empty seat at the table. Then the final newcomer came in. From his build it seemed he was a man, but his armor made it hard to tell. It looked like heavy plate armor, and the helmet resembled a Lancer's great helm rather than a practical piece of armor. In one hand was a large black handled halberd like weapon, while in the other was a very large and thick circular shield.

"My name is Lapp. Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

* * *

Esdeath pushed off of the ground, jumping high into the air, her large rapier at the ready as she angled her decent toward Adrien. The knight did not move when she did this. She speedily approached, with a smile that spoke of confidence, and intent. Her rapier nearly found it's mark if it had not been for Adrien shield, which he brought up just n time. A mighty clang resonated from the attack, resounding throughout the battlefield. Esdeath was admittedly surprised at that. Her rapier was made of some of the finest material in the empire,and had been especially designed to cut or pierce nearly anything, but Adrien's seemingly ordinary shield effortlessly blocked her attack. She landed, and struck again, but her attack met the same fate. Twice more she did so, each time was accompanied by loud metal clangs. She observed the shield and saw that her rapier was only making small nicks in the surface.

Adrien could tell Esdeath was a bit annoyed at his shield's durability. He imagined she would be even more annoyed if she found out he had many more shields that could do the same job. She dashed to his side, but thanks to the foresight ring, he saw it coming. She attempted to strike his arm, but her attack found nothing but air as he dashed backwards. She followed it up with a dozen more attacks from her rapier, and all were met with the face of a shield. As she struck for the thirteenth time, she kept her rapier on the shield, pressing on it.

"Your skills are impressive, but your holding back." Esdeath said simply. Then Adrien noticed the frost that was building up on his shield. He attempted to dash back, but his shield was frozen to Esdeath's rapier. Esdeath then pulled her rapier back with enough force to bring Adrien with her, knowing he wouldn't let go. She then forced the shield away from his person just long enough for her to send a powerful punch to his chest, launching him backwards, and disconnecting her rapier and his shield.

Esdeath flexed her right hand. _That...took a bit of force to do._ She thought to herself. _He truly is as strong as I hoped._ Adrien then rolled back up, and rose his shield as if nothing happened, which shocked many of the bystanders.

Adrien huffed in annoyance. And it wasn't necessarily because he got hit, but because his foresight ring had done little to prepare him for it. Before it had been working fine, but that last attack exploited the ring's weakness. _If an opponents is fast enough, the ring will do little to prepare you for the attack. The same drawback I myself took advantage of when I fought Zank._ Adrien thought as he readied his shield once again. Esdeath charged, but Adrien swiped upward with his sword as she got close enough. The speed caught her a bit off-guard, and she narowly avoided the blade by dodging to Adrien's right side. She delivered a kick, but Adrien turned and used his shield to block it, once again on the defensive.

"Are you going to keep hiding behind your shield, or are you going to fight me?" Esdeath teased, before jumping over and behind him, and attempting to backstab him. Adrien turned, but instead of a shield she was met with the business end of a four-barreled pistol. A powerful shot rang out as Adrien fired. Esdeath was genuinely surprised by his use of Firearms, but was still prepared. The bullet met her hand, now incased in ice, and it ricocheted into the ground. "Thats more like it."

The Jaegers, general Budo, the emperor, and especially Honest were all earnestly surprised Esdeath had not wiped the floor with Adrien yet. If anything had not yet proven he was a strong fighter, then this certainly did.

"Incredible." Wave said, as he watched the two fight, almost like they were performing a dangerous dance. Kurome, who was next to him had even stopped eating to watch the fight with her full attention. "They're fighting so hard."

"They're only testing each other." Kurome said dryly, and Wave looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"Its true." Bols suddenly said, speaking up. "I can tell they aren't performing at their best. Most likely to see which one will have to resort to more powerful measures first." Another loud shot rang out from Adrien's handgun, and Esdeath narrowly avoided the bullet by ducking her head. "It looks as though Adrien is playing defensively, while Esdeath is trying to get him to fight with all his strength." Wave nodded, understanding what he meant, but he was still surprised that they were delivering blows so strong and fast, and yet they were still holding back.

"Say, Seryu, what do you think of all this?" Dr. Stylish asked the young girl, and she did not respond, instead she watched the battle like a hawk, and held Koro as if he was a lifeline. Her nerves were far too wracked to answer, one of her best friends were fighting against one of her most respected role models. She didn't know what she thought, but she knew she didn't want to see either one of them truly hurt.

Esdeath was getting tired of this game of cat and mouse. " **Weissschnabel"** She said curtly. Her imperial arms summoned four ice shards around her shoulders, and sent them rocketing toward Adrien with a simple hand gesture. He used his shield to block, but she was one step ahead, as she accelerated to his exposed left side, and sent more ice shards toward him. He turned to block, and once the volley was done, he lifted his right hand up with a new weapon. The strange looking crossbow seemed to hitch on itself before releasing a small volley of bolts. Esdeath skillfully deflected each one with her rapier.

Esdeath reared her right hand back, the rapier aiming toward Adrien. In response the unkindled prepared another volley by lifting his crossbow vertically and pressing a switch that readied the next volley. Esdeath didn't give him a chance. Four more ice shards formed behind her shoulders, as her rapier elongated it's tip with ice. The shards fired towards Adrien, who rose his shield to defend, and he brought his crossbow to bear. When his foresight ring had warned him, it was too late. Esdeath rocketed forward with ice pushing her towards her opponent, and before he knew it, Adrien was impaled on her rapier, being held a full foot off the ground. Grey blood spewed out behind and in front of the knight as he was lifted up. The Jaegers were a bit shocked, but general Budo and the audience on the balcony were not surprised.

"Well." Budo said while looking at the scene. "I supposed that ends thi-" He was cut off by Adrien raising his now flaming hand, and a small explosion erupting, engulfing both him and Esdeath. Esdeath's body was thrown back from the force, and she attempted to stop herself, but her back slammed against one of the pillars holding the balcony up, leaving cracked stone in the wake of it. Normal people would have been shocked, hurt, and perhaps angry at the explosion Adrien had just pulled out of his ass, but Esdeath smiled wildly. The small amount of smoke cleared from the explosion, revealing Adrien with his left hand encased with orange fire.

"W-What?" Honest asked no one in particular as he had just witnessed his best general being bodily thrown away. _This is impossible. This isn't happening!_ Honest thought as he began to slowly panic. _Ok Ok... clam down Honest, she's human just like the rest of us. But she always ends up on top. Even if this Adrien is strong, Esdeath has always been the strongest._

The emperor stared in awe upon seeing Esdeath being hit with that explosion, wondering just how much power Adrien truly had. _If he has this much power, and would willingly seek out my help, then just how confident is he that this 'corruption' and 'abyss' is a true threat._ The emperor thought as he observed the knight standing there, waiting for his opponent to retaliate.

Esdeath got up rather quickly, and bolted for Adrien, eager to see his true potential. She stopped holding back. Adrien barely had a chance to raise his shield as she slammed her fist against it. _The foresight ring isn't going to help me anymore, I suspect. I'll be left on my own._ Adrien thought as he felt his feet dig into the ground from the impact. He unsheathed his straight sword, and swung multiple times at Esdeath, all of them forcing her back, but none of them landing. Adrien realized that she had a vicious smile on her face, even as she was being attacked, and the fringes of her uniform had been charred from the pyromancy he had cast earlier.

Esdeath struck with her rapier, but Adrien rolled to his right, and attempted to stab at her with his sword, but she arched her back just enough for the blade to miss, allowing her to step to the side in an effort to flank him again. Adrien had no time to bring up his shield as Esdeath pierced his left side with her rapier, eliciting grey blood from the wound. Adrien grunted as he could feel his health reserves dropping dangerously low. He rolled away and faced her. She attempted to strike head on, and Adrien parried her rapier, the weapon being cast to the side a bit. The unkindled then thrust his sword into her gullet. Only to be rewarded with the sound of his sword hitting something brittle. He looked down to see that Esdeath's mid-section had been incased in some kind of extremely tough ice, as the sword's tip was only imbedded about two inches. However the ice was cracked along where his sword had penetrated.

Esdeath repressed the urge to wince as the sword just barely pierced her ice and skin. While she had expected the sword to hit, she did not expect it to get past the ice that typically automatically formed whenever she was about to be hit. She was encouraged by the result. Adrien jumped back, and stood there parallel to Esdeath, watching the ice fall off of her stomach, revealing a very small cut in it. The on-lookers could not see however, as her back was turned toward them.

"Impressive, but you'll have to do better to win this fight." Esdeath said before attacking him again, her rapier striking against his shield multiple times. Adrien swiped at her, his sword and her rapier striking. She keeps swiping with her rapier, and he matches her with his sword. Although his blade doesn't have as good of a reach, his shield would cover him. Esdeath knew this, and so she jumped back to try a different strategy. An Idea quickly came to her, and so she began by using her powers to form a curved blade out of ice in her left hand. Then she charged again, slamming her rapier against his ready shield. Her second blade came up quickly, and he brought his sword up to block that as well. For only a brief second they were at a standoff, but Esdeath focused her powers, causing nearly a dozen ice shards to form behind her. Adrien attempted to back-step, but his feet were frozen to the ground, a layer of ice having formed to above his ankles. The shards struck him, all of them imbedding into his armor and body, with three striking into his helmet, seeming to penetrate into his skull. Adrien struggled, and managed to break the ice around his feet. Esdeath looked with a bit of confusion as he brought a golden flask up to his helmet, briefly lifted the visor slightly, and drunk the liquid inside. A golden flash emanated from his body and the Ice shards seemed to dissipate from his person, leaving no indication they were there. Esdeath couldn't help but smile as Adrien readied his shield, ready fro another round.

Adrien rose his left hand, his shield now on his back. His hand was engulfed in orange fire, and Esdeath stayed back, unsure of what would happen. Adrien moved his hand as if he was throwing something, and out of his left hand a giant ball of fire went hurtling for Esdeath. The ball of fire scorched the earth beneath it as it soared, and a ring of fire surrounded it. Esdeath acted quickly, slamming her foot down, and forming an Ice wall between her and the ball of fire. As the fire meet the defense, flames and steam exploded outward, some of the flames licking around the wall, threatening to touch Esdeath, but none made it. As the steam settled Esdeath saw that her wall was almost completely melted, and Adrien was no longer wearing his normal armor. He wore near pitch black plate armor that covered him from head to toe. It had a half cape that draped down over his whole torso, and in his hands was a large steel scythe with a cyan blue edge at the end. Esdeath rose an eyebrow at the ornate armor.

"So you've decided to use some new equipment?" Esdeath teased as she got into a battle stance, both her rapier and ice sword at the ready. "Lets see if it doesn't help you." She rushed forward, and brought both her weapons to bear, intending to strike with both, seeing Adrien without his shield. Adrien merely withdrew a second smaller, bright cyan scythe from his back, and blocked both of Esdeath's weapons. Her rapier was trapped in-between the blade and handle of the smaller scythe, while her sword was caught his bigger scythe's handle. Before Esdeath had a chance to summon any ice shards, Adrien kicked off the ground, going into a backflip, and attempted to kick Esdeath mid-flip. She had to back up to avoid the kick, and as Adrien landed, he swept his smaller scythe across the ground, and Ice shards formed around the ground in front of him, and around Esdeath's feet. While she was shocked, Esdeath still jumped away before the shards exploded into an icy mist.

Adrien looked at Esdeath to measure what she might do next. Esdeath smiled with sadistic glee, before she launched herself at him again. Adrien as well went on the offensive with Friede's scythes as he began to swing his scythes to gain momentum. As she reached him, he twirled around, and struck both of her weapons with his smaller scythe. He attempted to then strike with his bigger scythe. Esdeath used her leg to kick the scythe upwards, away from her. Adrien felt the air around him get colder, before an ice shard formed in front of him. Then he let go of Friede's bigger scythe and attacked with his fist. The ice shards connected with his shoulder, and Esdeath recovered from her weapons being pushed away, and swiped at him with her ice-sword. His fist connected with her side at the same time her sword swiped at his neck. Sparks and grey blood shot out from Esdeath's attack, while Adrien's fist cracked the ice that immediately formed over the area he had punched.

Adrien grabbed his scythe again as Esdeath brought her rapier to bear, stabbing him int the chest with it. He responded by using his smaller scythe to drag her rapier away, before attempting to swipe at her neck. Esdeath blocked it with her ice sword, but cracks formed from the attack. Esdeath used her powers to lock up Adrien's feet yet again. Adrien then pulled on both of his scythes, Esdeath having locked her weapons with them, was brought forward. They were only about a foot apart, too close for Esdeath to use her rapier. Adrien brought his smaller scythe up, and attempted to swipe, but Esdeath had let go of her main weapon, opting to block the strike with her now ice-encased hand. Adrien focused more on his right hand, the force causing the Ice sword in Esdeath's grasp to shatter. Leaving her to also block that attack with her hand.

Esdeath smirked, seeing them in a similar situation as they had been in before, but Adrien had different plans as he let go of both of his weapons, and attempted to strike her with his fists. She was able to react just in time to gab both of his fists. He pressed down hard, while she pressed back, the strength of them causing the ice around Adrien's feet to break. They both pushed harder, seeking dominance, and the ground underneath their feet began to tremble as their heels dug into the ground. Esdeath was honestly having a lot of fun.

Adrien, seeing how Esdeath might launch more ice shards again, tapped into his reserves, and pushed with all his might, overpowering Esdeath, and forcing her hands behind her shoulder. He disengaged his left hand, and brought it down quickly onto her humerus. Ice formed as he struck, causing the protective coat to crack dangerously. He grabbed onto the arm before she had a chance to push him away. Esdeath in kind, with her ice covered hand, reached out an stabbed Adrien in the neck, her right hand now in the shape of a blade. Then Adrien squeezed. A crack of ice and bone was heard, and all stopped. Esdeath looked to her arm to see Adrien had put enough compressive force on it to not only break the ice, but also the bone inside. They both fully disengaged, and recovered their weapons, Esdeath's right arm falling to her side, limp and broken.

Esdeath looked at her broken arm, and then to her rapier, which she was forced to wield in her left hand. She smiled with an odd satisfaction, while their watchers grew more and more nervous.

"Esdeath's arm is...broken?" The emperor said in a whisper too low for even honest to hear as he watched. Honest was biting his nails, barely containing his nervousness about how this battle might actually turn out.

"Whoa..." Wave said, unable to form an appropriate enough response to what he was watching. Kurome's eyes widened as well she knew of Esdeath's power, and to see her face someone that could cause such damage was both frightening and shocking. The rest of the jaegers remained silent, unable to add anything to what was happening.

General Budo was uncertain what he should do. With Esdeath's arm broken, he really should end the fight. Not only would Esdeath not allow that, he doubted Honest would approve of Adrien being announced as the victor. So against what he really should have done, he remained silent, allowing them to keep fighting.

"This didn't need to happen." Adrien said, catching everyone's attention. "We don't have to fight." Esdeath chuckled.

"Oh but we do, I'm afraid that I won't take anything less than me being victorious. This isn't just about you being mine, its about proving which one of us is the strongest. About who will survive." Esdeath responded, and Adrien tightened his grip on his weapons.

"You intend to fight to the death?" Adrien questioned, and Esdeath shook her head.

"No, I have far too many things I'd like to do with you." Esdeath answered. "Now, shall we continue?" Adrien paused, before he reached into his box once again, and changing his equipment for a second time. He wore noticeably lighter looking armor, the only noticeable protection being the pauldron and metal sleeves on his left arm and the pointed metal helmet. The armor had reddish cloth that acted as the torso, and hung off of his back as a cape. In his right hand he held a large steel sword that was about the same length of her own rapier, while his left hand sported a smaller silver-colored shield with two dragons on it with multiple odd seals at the bottom. Esdeath smiled at the new look.

Adrien had forgone Friede's scythes and Vilhelms's armor, knowing that trying to fight someone who could control ice with mostly ice based weaponry probably would not go anywhere fast. So in order to finish this fight swiftly, he opted for the equipment he used most during his journey. Then he replaced the shield of want with his pyromancy flame, and applied the Carthus flame arc to the weapon.

Esdeath charged at him, unintimidated by his armor, the fire, and noticeably large sword. Esdeath's broken arm froze up with ice, and formed into a sharp blade, perfect for cutting. Adrien readied his new shield in front of him, and Esdeath noticed that it was a little smaller than the previous one. Like before her rapier met the shield with a clang of metal on metal. Esdeath then struck her arm-blade against it, putting more pressure against him. Adrien rolled to the left, and once ha landed, attempted to thrust with his flaming sword, making Esdeath sidestep to avoid it. Adrien then swung his sword in a wide arc at her, and she jumped over it in response. While in mid-air, she attempted to kick him, but he blocked the strike with a shield. Esdeath reared back, and face Adrien once again.

Her opponent put the shield on his back instantaneously, and stoped forward, using the sword's weight to put more force into it. Because of her close proximity, she staggered just a bit. Then he swung the blade behind him, digging into the ground, before it came back up to meet Esdeath. She attempted to move, but Adrien simply followed her while digging his sword through the ground, and then he struck. His blade came up right underneath Esdeath, striking the inside of her thigh. Ice formed there, but it was quickly shattered and melted. She was violently tossed upwards, and as she came down Adrien brought his shield to bear, and struck her in the back. Ice once again formed, but it held rather firm, only cracking slightly. She fell to the ground, while Adrien backed away, waiting on her next movement.

Esdeath shakily stood to her feet. There was a large gash on her right leg where Adrien's sword had hit her, and was covered with blood-stained ice to stop the bleeding. She was using her rapier to support herself, her leg almost useless. Despite it all, she was still smiling. Adrien rushed her. _If she is still so foolish as to face me, then I will indulge her._ Adrien thought bitterly as he approached. Budo started to move, before Esdeath said a simple word.

" **Mahapadma"**

Everyone was stunned silent, and General Budo rose his hand. Grey blood seemed to spray from in front of Adrien's torso, and Esdeath suddenly appeared behind him, instantaneously. Adrien's libs were frozen, his weapons frozen with them. Everyone in attendance gasped at the sudden change, even Budo paused.

Adrien could feel that his health reserves were nearly depleted. Again. He could have used an ember, but it was too late now. Esdeath was above and behind him, ready to take him out incase he tried anything else. _I won't be able to break from this ice easily either. Not before she kills me. Confound it, I should have taken a moment to use an ember. Although that would have risen more questions from my fellow 'Jaegers' and perhaps...I should lose._ Adrien glanced from his position just enough to see Honest, a confident smirk on his face. The emperor looked stunned. _If I had won...or even ended this match in a draw, I would be on their watchlist. I might already be. But them thinking Esdeath can defeat me will make Honest less likely to feel threatened. Hopefully. But...Just what did she do?_

"Stop!" The general ordered. "Adrien has not moved for thirty seconds, and is incapable of retaliating. I announce Esdeath as the winner." The Jaegers were slack-jawed at the display, while Honest was practically ecstatic. The emperor's mouth moved, but no words came from it. Esdeath smiled sadistically, looking at Adrien's mostly frozen body with as domineering a gaze as she could.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **discord server:** /uDxVym8

 **And thus ends the Soul of the General Arc. I know there was a lot of fighting, and not much dialogue, but I felt it was necessary. I still hope you were able to find it enjoyable. I've also got some plans fro the next couple of chapters I think you'll enjoy.**

 **I'll be writing the next chapter of Shop class next, so if anyone's interested check that out. Now there weren't too many questions last chapter, but I will say that polling is still going on, and I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far! If you have any comments, criticisms, or anything you'd like me to see, don't be afraid to review. Constructive Criticism is always welcome! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13-Soul of the Truth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the Truth**

As Night descended on Night Raid's Hideout, Tatsumi watched from the doorway into the training yard, where Lapp, one of their newest recruits, was staring up at the moon, resting on the ground. His expression hidden behind his helmet, but Tatsumi could tell that the man was relaxing, most likely trying to meditate. It hadn't even been a day since he joined, but the Incursio user just could not get the feeling out of him that Lapp was not trustworthy.

"What're you doin Tatsumi?" Leone's sudden question made the younger assassin jump as he turned around to face the busty blonde. "Stalking that guy? I expected you to start staking our other newest member." Leone teased as Tatsumi recovered from his shock.

"Not...Stalking, I don't have a good feeling about this guy. I don't know." Tatsumi admitted, as he looked back at Lapp, who was still lazily sitting on the ground. "He's barely spoken since he came here, and he didn't eat at dinner. Plus he's had that helmet on the whole time, like-"

"Like Adrien." Leone finished, her expression and tone much more serious. "I've got the same kind of feeling. When Adrien came here, he made my animal instincts go crazy when I had Lionele activated. I haven't activated it around him, but I'm getting a similar vibe already." Tatsumi considered this as he watched the man "Be careful around him, but if the Boss wants him with us, we shouldn't try anything yet." Leone placed her hand on Tatsumi's shoulder for a second before she made her way away from the doorway, leaving Tatsumi alone to watch Lapp.

* * *

Midnight approached as Adrien walked down the hall of the palace, his armor making little to no noise. The undead legion's set of light armor fit well on him, and he had found it his personal favorite to use because of it's low weight. While the loss of protection was noticeable, he grew to overcome that soon after donning it all those years ago. Currently he was heading towards the Firekeeper's room, but he knew he wouldn't be there for long, as Esdeath had called for him. He soon arrived at the doorway to what was supposed to be his room, and opened it. Both the Firekeeper and Seryu were there, eating. Both of them turning their heads to the sound of the door opening.

"Mr Adrien!" Seryu exclaimed, immediately getting up to meet him. "Are you okay? We were all worried sick about you and Esdeath when they took you both to the infirmary." Adrien observed her for a moment, before nodding in understanding.

"I am fine, however Esdeath has a broken arm, a large flesh wound on her thigh, and is not recommended to walk." Seryu stiffened up a bit, and Koro looked at her curiously.

"I...I hope she gets better soon, but I also wished that she hadn't started that fight. I thought you loved each other?" Adrien shook his head slowly, and Seryu's eyes widened with shock.

"To put it bluntly, she forced me to say we were partners, but I had a feeling that if I had openly refused, much worse might have befallen me, or worse, the Firekeeper." Adrien's words struck heavily with Seryu. She stared at him for a few moments, seemingly unable to comprehend what she just heard. Adrien in the meantime walked over to the Firekeeper. "I apologize, I would have come sooner, but Esdeath would not let me go until both of our 'checkups' were done." Adrien said, a clear unsure tone given to the word 'checkup'. The Firekeeper nodded.

"It is alright Ashen One, I will still await for thou. Now that thou is here Ashen one. There is something I would ask thee." Adrien shifted a bit as the Firekeeper tilted her head towards him. While she could not see, she could sense the undead curse within him, as well as the thousands of writhing souls he carried. "May I be called Lilith?" The Firekeeper heard Seryu shift a bit upon hearing the name. "Both Seryu and Bols suggested that while I still posses my title as a Firekeeper, It would be nice if I possessed a proper name. I wished to consult thee, Ashen one, before I made my decision." The Firekeeper could tell the Ashen One was still looking at her, and she would be lying if she said she didn't feel slightly nervous.

"Do you like the name?" Adrien asked, as the Firekeeper nodded, and Seryu observed in great interest, but also in nervousness. "Then that will be fine, Lilith." Seryu could practically be heard squirming. While Lilith smiled a bit after hearing the Ashen One's decision. "Unfortunately I believe I must leave now, I juts wished to ensure you are still doing well."

"Mr Adrien?" Seryu asked tentatively, causing Adrien to pause. "Are you sure your alright? I've never seen you lose before." This caused Adrien to look at her and stare for a moment, before he chuckled, something Seryu couldn't recall him ever doing.

"Seryu, I have lost more battles than you will ever see." Seryu seemed a bit awestruck, but Adrien was making to leave again, and she still had another question.

"Wait!" Seryu exclaimed, and Adrien turned to her, and Koro appeared at his feet, jumping up and down. "W-Why would Esdeath hurt the Firekeeper if you didn't want to be with her?" Adrien took a moment, thinking about what exactly he should say.

"Because I do not know Esdeath well, and her history does not paint a bright picture. I believed this was the best outcome for everyone, so I wet along with it, but that doesn't mean I like it." Seryu seemed conflicted, struggling to find words to say as Adrien left the room.

Adrien walked down the hall at a brisk pace, knowing Esdeath would not want to wait. As he did, he noticed many servants eyeing him oddly, as well as with a hint of fear. even if they had heard of his fight with Esdeath, they still found his outfit very odd. Adrien couldn't blame them, as compared with everyone else around him, the undead legion's set might seem very strange. Adrien eventually reached the doors to Esdeath's darkened room, and entered. He did not bother to knock considering she was expecting him. Esdeath was lying on her bed, reading a book, holding it with her good arm, her right arm in a sling. Her right leg and torso were covered in bandages, all signs of their fight earlier in the day. Despite what many would call serious injuries, she had a pleased smile on her face as she read, and it only grew wider when Adrien opened the door.

"Adrien, I'm glad you've come. Are you feeling well?" Esdeath asked with more genuine feeling than Adrien thought was possible for the woman. Adrien nodded before he approached closer, and saw the title of the book. 'Tales of the Empire'. "I'm glad, your ability to rapidly heal certainly does have it's perks, but I can tell you can be better." Adrien's head tilted slightly when she said that. "That was the hardest fight I've ever had, but I still won, and if it wasn't for your ability to heal and take devastating blows, you would have long been dead into our duel."

"I cannot argue that." Adrien admitted, and Esdeath chuckled a bit.

"In battle though, that does not matter. Your sturdiness is an excellent tool, but I believe you can lean more if you allow me to train you." Esdeath offered, and Adrien did not respond to her offer, a signal to continue. "The major flaw I see in you is your inability to sense presences, intents, and predict moves until the last second. I had already figured this when I heard of your fights and read the reports, but since our fight, I have seen that my assumption was correct." Adrien was now rather curious about this. _If what she is implying is true, that would explain a few things. Perhaps my inability to sense a 'presence' is why I get caught off guard so often. Then again, I have admittedly not been fighting with all of my skill. That changes now though._ Adrien's musings were interrupted as Esdeath sighed.

"Although with my current predicament, it might be a few days before I can start training you." Esdeath was a bit disappointed about it, but decided to keep that to herself. "For now, we should rest, I have a few things to cover with the Jaegers tomorrow." Esdeath then patted the space next to her signaling Adrien to lie down. Adrien complied, if not a bit hesitantly. Before he could remove his helmet, Esdeath was quicker, taking the pointed headwear and placing it on his bedside table, reaching over him to do so. Once she pulled back however, she locked eyes with him, her smile growing mischievous.

"Wha-" Adrien's question was interrupted as Esdeath suddenly closed the distance between their faces, engaging him in a passionate kiss. Adrien was surprised, but simply let it happen, hoping she wouldn't press anymore. She broke the kiss, and backed up slightly, before pouting at him.

"Still not happy?" Esdeath asked, both annoyed and disappointed. Adrien simply looked to the side, his face still expressionless. Esdeath smirked. "You'll feel the same way I do, one day." Esdeath then turned to her side of the bed. Adrien stared at the foot of the bed for a moment, before he sighed and laid down as well. _Hopefully she will lose interest. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that will happen anytime soon._

* * *

Seryu arrived to the jaeger's meeting room with Koro in her arms, showing up to see everyone else was already there. Including Adrien and the Firekeeper. She approached the table and noticed that there was no breakfast out, while everyone seemed to be questioning Esdeath and Adrien about their fight the previous day.

"Just how much stuff do you have stored in there?" Wave asked Adrien, who were sitting across from each other. "I mean you changed your outfit twice during the fight. Also, your still wearing that pinhead armor from yesterday, in case you didn't notice." Adrien nodded, understanding it might seem perplexing.

"This is armor I normally wear and the set I am the most comfortable with, I believe there is no reason to hinder myself by using weapons I have not improved." Adrien explained. "As for how much equipment I have, that is for me to know." Wave gulped a bit. While the armor as a concept seemed a bit silly, the way Adrien wore it made it look intimidating. Bols noticed that Seryu had arrived, and waved to her.

"Good morning Seryu, did you sleep well?" Bols asked, and Esdeath's gaze feel on her. The General had been sitting at the head of the table, listing to Adrien intently, but now that she saw all of her team was here, she stood up.

"Seryu, have a seat." Esdeath said in a warm tone, the former guard complying. "Now that we are all here, there are some things I need to announce." The jaegers nod, curious as to what their leader needs. "There have been reports of an increase in numbers of danger beasts within the capital's territory. Thus, while Night Raid is our main target, we have been tasked with killing any danger beasts we come across, and to help the people within the capital affected by the sudden increase." The Jaegers all looked at Esdeath pensively, while Adrien tilted his head.

 _An increase in Danger beasts? Seems a rather tame thing to assign an elite group of warriors to do, but I suppose it is not my decision._ Adrien mused, looking around to his fellow Jaegers. Kurome and Bols seemed to not give much of a reaction to the assignment, while Dr. Stylish seemed a bit nervous, even though his face didn't portray it, his eyes did. Seryu once again had a look of determination on her face, while Run and Wave seemed contemplative about it.

"We are still looking at any leads that may give information on Night Raid, which brings me to my second major announcement." Esdeath continued, the Jaegers still giving their attention. "We have a lead, and I'm assigning Adrien, Dr stylish, and Bols to investigate it. Think you two can handle it?" they both nodded, but Adrien was much less firm in his motion than Bols. "Excellent, I'll have the details ready for you both tomorrow. The same goes with the rest of you. You'll all be grouped up and sent to various settlements having troubles with danger beasts." The Jaegers nodded, all of them understanding their orders. "As for me, I will be joining you as soon as I can, however the doctors have insisted that I take a break from fighting due to my injuries. In a few days time however, I will be back to full working order. So until you hear otherwise, you're all dismissed."

Shortly after the meeting was dismissed, Adrien was set on exploring the palace, knowing he needed to familiarize himself better with the place. He was content on going it alone, but someone was already set on going with him.

"I guess you haven't had much of a chance to explore the palace have you?" Seryu asked, Koro comfortably held in her arms. Adrien nodded, and Seryu smiled. She was a bit surprised he hadn't changed his outfit, but she wasn't necessarily opposed to it. He was still the same person, and still her friend. "Well I'll help you, the servant's cafeteria is just up ahead, since we're part of the Jaegers, we can eat here anytime, although Esdeath wants us at the meeting room during the meal times if we aren't on a mission. You; uh, probably already knew that huh?" Adrien didn't respond, but simply peeked into the room she noted as the Servant's cafeteria. Seryu waited only a moment as Adrien returned to the hall, continuing his trek.

"Mr. Adrien?" Seryu's tone grew to that of a concerned child as he looked back at her, but did not stop. "You don't think Esdeath would try to hurt the Firekeeper? Do you?" Adrien was confused for a moment, but remembered the conversation they had just the night before. He did not say anything for a few moments, letting the question sink in.

"I do not know." Adrien admitted, and Seryu hung her head low, thinking about something. Whatever it was, Adrien could tell it troubled her greatly.

"W-Well, if she ever does...I promise I'll protect her." Seryu suddenly said, causing Adrien to pause. Seryu wondered what her words meant to him, but held firm. "I mean it. I...I don't think Esdeath would, but I said I would watch after the Firekeeper when you were away, so if I ever have to, I'll protect her. No matter what." Adrien turned around, and Seryu noticed that while his central leather armor piece covered the majority of his face, the mask attached to the metal helmet did not obscure his eyes. Those red orbs, ones that would any other time show no emotion, instead showed genuine thankfulness and...happiness. Seryu was a bit shocked at noticing his eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. No words were spoken by Adrien, but in that moment, none needed to be spoken.

* * *

"So this Adrien managed to kill the previous user of incursio?" Susanoo asked while putting a hand to his chin, and Najenda nodded. Currently the entirety of Night Raid were sitting at the large dining table within their base, the newest members being informed on one of their deadliest opponents. Susanoo seemed contemplative after hearing about Adrien's abilities, while Lapp and Chelsea seemed to have little reaction. Which didn't sit well with the others.

"Indeed, so if and when any of you face him, do so with extreme caution." Najenda said, and then turned her attention to the others. "Which means no going it alone, I'm going to start assigning everyone a partner for each mission. No matter what they do during the mission." Everyone nodded, but Mine smirked a bit upon those words.

"Yea, we certainly know someone who'll need protection." Mine said smugly, while looking over to where Tatsumi was sitting, who growled at the implication, before he smirked as well.

"Oh c'mon Mine, don't speak so lowly of yourself." Tatsumi ribbed back, but before the teasing could continue, one of their newer members spoke up.

"He doesn't sound too tough." Chelsea said calmly. Which caused every head to turn towards her. "As long as we play it smart, get him alone, and we have more people against him, We'll be just fine. If we can do that much." Tatsumi raised his eyebrow.

"What do you mean? 'If we can do that much'?" Tatsumi asked her, and Chelsea smiled bittersweetly.

"I doubt they called him there to the capital just for a social call, and considering he wasn't beheaded publicly, It would be best to assume he's still alive, and in the palace." Chelsea paused, and was about to continue, but Najenda interrupted her.

"I already received word from spies within the capital. Adrien is still there." Najenda said, causing the members of Night Raid to look at her with concern and a bit of surprise. "It's also confirmed that he has joined the elite group of warriors Esdeath was forming. Meaning he's operating in a team now. So getting him alone will be much more difficult." Leone was the first to respond to the news.

"What the hell!?" The blonde exclaimed, anger clear in her voice. "He agreed not to interfere with out operations!" Najenda nodded sadly.

"He did, but now that he and undoubtedly that Firekeeper are in the palace, there's no way we can threaten him. Its uncomfortable, but its the truth." Akame said, looking down at the table, several thing going through her mind. Leone, Tatsumi, and Lubbock all seemed to seethe with anger, while Chelsea sighed, no longer needing to say what she was going to. Susanoo nodded twice to himself.

"So this team that General Esdeath has put together is even more dangerous than what would normally be expected." Susanoo said, and Najenda nodded. "Is there any other knowledge of the other members?" At this, Najenda shook her head.

"As of now, the only two confirmed are Esdeath and Adrien...Those two alone would already be a real threat. It would be best to treat any others we encounter on that team just as seriously. Before we move on to our next target, there is one more thing I'd like to say." The assassins looked at her expectantly. Najenda then looked over to Sheele. "I hear you've been doing a fantastic job with some of our smaller targets, and with hunting danger beasts. I'm glad to have you back at full strength." Sheele nodded sheepishly as Leone patted her on the back from her position next to the purple clad girl. Then Night Raid's leader turned to one of their newer members. "You've been awfully quiet Lapp, whats your take on all this?" The armored man shifted a bit, realizing all eyes were now suddenly thrust upon him. He paused, while noticing the suspicious look from Tatsumi.

"Well..." Lapp began, still unsure of what to say. "I can't really say much, I've never met Esdeath before, so I can't personally attest to her...combat skills. But if what you all say is anything to go buy, I am already feeling cautious about facing her." Najenda nodded, but then her eye opened with a bit of realization.

"You said Esdeath, but what about..?"

"Adrien? Well I believe I've met him before. Only once though." Lapp stated calmly, and the table went silent again. Najenda's gaze hardened on the man for a moment.

"What!? How!?" Leone asked incredulously, but also with a bit of a threatening tone. Akame glared at him hard, while the other members had similar reactions.

"H-Hey, I said I met him, he's not my friend." Lapp quickly said while putting his hands up in a placating gesture. The assassins seemed to back off, but still eyed him suspiciously. "It was a few months ago, and I was on my way to a small town to rest for the night. One the road I saw what looked like a knight with a cloak around him, and a blonde woman with him. They had set up camp for the night. I asked him why he had camped if there was a town not far away. He said he was lost, and followed me to the village, but after that, I never saw him again. He had checked in at the inn, but I figured he had left early or was still there. I swear, besides that I don't know anything." The assassin's had completely backed off now, and seemed somewhat satisfied with the answer. _Good._ 'Lapp' thought. _I guess my old acting skills are still useful. Lets see how long I need to keep this up._

"Did he say why he was there?" Najenda asked, and Lapp put a hand to his chin. "Did he say anything about where he came from? Anything at all as to who he is?" Lapp hummed, apparently trying to remember. Then he shook his head.

"Sorry, but He didn't really say much when I met him." Lapp said apologetically, and Najenda sighed. With all of this on the table, it was a wonder that they were still able to take out targets. They had two new members, but the empire had Adrien on their side, someone that had nearly singlehandedly halved their numbers. This was going to be an uphill battle. The leader of Night Raid just hoped that things didn't get any worse.

* * *

"So is there something you required from me, your majesty?" Adrien asked the child emperor as he was escorted by the ruler and two royal bodyguards. Adrien had not asked anything since he was suddenly approached by a guard, and told to meet the emperor for 'an important meeting'. He figured it would have been explained, but the child had been so far completely silent. He hoped that Dr. Stylish had gotten everything he wanted from him, the undead did not look forward to answering any questions, or taking any more tests during the mission or afterward.

"I will explain once we get to our destination." The emperor replied, and Adrien remained quiet, content to wait. It was rather late out, and the undead would need to head out the next day with Bols, so it was for the best that whatever the emperor needed from him took place now. Although the undead was still curious as to what the child wanted. After twisting through the halls and corridors of the palace, the undead observed they were going higher into the palace, staircase after staircase confirmed that much, and the amount of nobles and important looking persons seemed to increase. This was where the majority of the noble class lived that stayed in the palace, however this was simply part of the route to wherever the Emperor was taking the undead. Then there was a hallway blocked off by two royal guards, but once the small party approached they moved out of the way, before blocking the entrance once again. Adrien also noticed two large steel doors on either side of the hall entrance, indicating it could be blocked off. _This must be an important section of the palace. Perhaps his Majesty's chambers?_ Adrien mused. They passed a rather large pair of doors with the words. 'Prime Minister' written in bold Gold plate. Then they passed another set of doors on the other side labeled 'The Emperor'. _Well, they certainly made it obvious where they stay didn't they?_ Adrien thought, questioning the logic behind making their location so obvious. "we're here." The emperor said simply, spurring Adrien out of his thoughts.

The Unkindled saw that there was a large ornate door with no label at the end of the hall, along with two other equally as ornate doors with no label. The emperor unlocked the door in front of them, and they all stepped inside. Revealing that General Budo was waiting for them. Adrien was a bit surprised, but it suddenly faded, remembering that he could possibly be considered a threat. Although when the General set his gaze on the undead, his eyes seemed to have a respectful glint to them.

"Your Majesty." The general said, bowing to his emperor. "Adrien." He said standing back to his full height, and giving the knight a nod. Adrien returned the gesture, and gazed around the room, noticing the large array of weapons and odd artifacts in the room. He could tell they each held some kind of significance, and if he had to guess, they were most likely some kind of imperial arms. "That was a fine duel, I've never seen Esdeath on the ropes so much." Adrien nodded in thanks toward the praise, but the emperor cleared his throat.

"Now that Adrien is here, I suppose I should explain why I wanted your presence." The emperor said in a serious tone toward the warrior. Adrien lifted his head a bit, his mask revealing his red eyes looking back at the emperor. The emperor pretended not to be intimidated. "There is something that I believe you might be able to help with. Regrading a certain imperial arms we have at our disposal." The emperor then faced a particularly large rectangular object covered up by a large cloth. It was actually bigger than the doorway they had come through, and was taller than both Adrien and General Budo. "This imperial arms has taken many lives, and we still do not know anyone who can actually harness it's powers." At that, Budo yanked the cloth from the object, revealing a painting. Adrien froze, as he knew this painting. The painting of Ash. "We also don't know it's origins, and considering your talent for supposedly using any imperial arms, we thought you could help."

"I know this painting." Adrien immediately replied, and the two individuals next to him seemed surprised. The painting itself was mostly grey and white with a light red sky creating a great contrast, and in that expanse were tall leafy trees, and a single log cabin at the center of the painting, far into the background, but being the only thing that wasn't nature, it was very prominent in the picture. "And it is not an imperial arms. It is a portal." At that the Emperor seemed to have some kind of realization.

"Then that would explain why no one can 'use' it. Its been working properly this whole time." Adrien simply nodded at the child's words. "Is there anyway we can use it in a useful manner then?" Adrien looked down, and pondered that. One one hand, it could be used as an emergency exit. But there were undoubtedly no bonfires on the other side, so unless there was another way out, anyone that went inside would be stuck.

"Then we throw our enemies into it, a means of permanently removing them." General Budo stated. "No one that has touched the painting has ever returned, so its safe to assume there is no coming back. It provides an instant guarantee to get rid of anyone that threatens us." Adrien looked at the general, but decided not to say anything. He was technically right, but the undead thought it inappropriate to use such a painting as a weapon. Nevertheless he stayed quiet.

"An excellent Idea Budo, and as long as no one touches the painting itself, its safe for transport. Perhaps the jaegers could find a use for it?" The emperor asked, looking at Adrien.

"I would rather not, your Majesty. The painting is...very old. I knew the woman who made it, this is undoubtedly the last piece of her memory besides what I know of her." Adrien said while gazing at the painting, the memories of Gael, and the painted world coming back to him. _If this painting has survived, then what else could still be out there?_ Adrien thought, and the emperor seemed to notice his reminiscent gaze.

"I see." The child said while looking at the ground. "Well, the if it can be helped, I won't allow it to be used." Adrien looked at the child with interest. "But if my hand is forced, we may very well use it anyway." The general nodded his approval, while the undead seemed a bit relieved. "I suppose you can guess what the rest of these artifacts are." The emperor said to the undead, and he briefly looked around again.

"Other imperial arms?" Adrien guessed, and the emperor nodded. Then the general went up to one display case containing a rather oversized-looking pistol.

"All of these imperial arms were crafted by the first emperor long ago, and the ones here have had previous owners, but no current ones." General Budo paused a moment, before he faced Adrien. "Your ability to use almost any imperial arms you find could be very...advantageous. If you prove yourself, perhaps we will gift you some of these." Adrien spotted one particular weapon, what appeared to be a very ornate curved sword hanging on the wall, his thoughts going to what any of these weapons might do. "however, if you locate or acquisition any imperial arms in your missions, we would ask you bring them here first. We will let you keep the imperial arms Extase, but this is for any future gains." Adrien nodded in understanding, thankful they didn't ask him to hand over Extase. Since he couldn't give it back.

"Anyways, I think that was all I needed from you Adrien, until I call again, you are dismissed." Adrien nodded, and was about to leave, before The emperor got his attention. "Oh? And Adrien?" The undead turned around to once again face the emperor. "i've looked into some of what you asked me to. Its...very concerning to say the least." Adrien nodded, before he once again made his leave.

"That is exactly why I implored you to look into it." Adrien said as he left through the doorway.

* * *

"So, were supposed to take out this banker guy right? Hayden right?" Lubbock asked uninterested, as Leone looked through a pair of binoculars towards the mansion where the banker was having a house party. "Charging too much for services, and funding drug trafficker right?" Leone nodded as she continued her survey, mentally noting where all the guards were.

"Pretty much, but we also suspect he's been participating in human smuggling too. Specifically Child smuggling." Leone had a snarl on her face as she said those words. Lubbock now had a hard glare on his face as he looked toward the mansion. "Akame and Tatsumi are ready to move in, but I can't see any specialized guards anywhere. At least on the outside."

"We'll just have to go in there and find out the hard way then." Lubbock said, standing up. He was about to start putting on his mask to conceal his identity before Leone stopped him by raising a fist. "What is it?" Leone then pointed to what looked like a warrior equipped in light armor with a strange helmet, wielding a sword that was as long as he was tall. He also had a shield on his left arm, and appeared to be patrolling the grounds.

"He doesn't look beefy, but look at that weapon, we better take him out first." Leone then smirked as she looked back at Lubbock. "More specifically you." Lubbock sighed as he continued to equip his gear. Once he was done, he jumped down to face the strange warrior. The man was standing in front of a large storage shed, which gave Lubbock a brilliant idea.

Adrien was not having the best of times. Him, Dr. Stylish, and Bols were assigns to 'protect' this banker, but in fact, it was a trap. It had been confirmed the banker was the next target from spies, and so everyone that was invited to the 'party' were actually assassins in disguise. Except for the members of the jaeger force, and the actual guards, who were kept out of the loop. Adrien wondered if Night Raid would fall for the trap, for the past four hours, nothing had happened. It was his turn to patrol the grounds, and silently hoped that if Night Raid was targeting this place, they would be intimidated by him being there. He did not want to fight those who he technically 'shared' a common goal with.

The unkindled soon got his answer as he saw someone land right in front of him, as if asking for a fight. He was barely recognizable thanks to the masks, but he could have sword hes seen that shade of green hair before. Adrien slowly walked to the man, as he was simply standing there, waiting for him to approach. Then something caught him, strings more precisely. Dozens of knots wrapped around his limbs, torso, and one right around his neck. All of them immediately digging into the fabric of his armor.

"I guess I don't need to tell you that your trapped now do I?" The strange man asked in a familiar voice. Adrien pushed against the strings, feeling that they were attached to something behind him. To his surprise, the strings didn't even begin to break, instead, they pushed past his fabric, and began to dig into his undead flesh. "Persistent aren't you? Look, you can either give me some info on the banker dude, or you can die, which will it be?"

"So you all did show up huh?" Adrien asked bemused, and the man's eyes widened in immediate recognition. "I expected you all to come. A word of warning, don't go in there." Adrien said, trying to help him without being outright 'traitorous'. "I recommend you undo these bonds and-" Adrien was cut off by the strings digging further into his flesh, causing him to wince. Even with dulled senses, these things hurt.

"That's a weird fucking get up, even weirder than last time. Doesn't matter to me though. You won't be leaving this place...at all. You'll pay for what you did, but I'm not going to kill you." Lubbock said with spite and anger in his voice. Adrien looked up, and tilted his head in confusion. "We already know what will happen, so don't think I'm going to kill you just for you to show up here in a few minutes completely rested." Lubbock reflexively tightened the bonds on Adrien, and was rewarded with more grey ooze forming at the Knight's feet. "Stay here, I'll be back. I wouldn't try to escape anyway." At that Lubbock left feeling rather good about 'capturing' Adrien, but also fearful and angry that he was here in the first place.

Akame ran silently through the halls of the mansion, searching for the corrupt banker. She had already dispatched multiple guards, and was making an effort to avoid the main hall where all the guests were, hoping the banker would be found elsewhere. Several minutes went by, before she sighed. Having searched all of the rooms outside of the kitchen and the rooms right around the main hall, she didn't find anyone but servants and more guards. The latter of which were no longer threats. She found a window, and swiftly jumped up to the room, finding Leone, Tatsumi, and Lubbock all looking into the party from a window ceiling.

"Have you found him?" Akame asked as she came up next to Leone, noticing all of their gazes fixed on one area.

"Yea, hes talking with the crowd, its going to be hard to take him out without hurting anyone else in there." Leone said, keeping her eyes on a skinny mustached man who was conversing with others within the crowd.

"Why should we care? Aren't all of these guys supposed to be aligned with the empire?" Tatsumi asked, before Leone contemplated that for a moment, and looked down into the crowd again.

"I know we want to take him out, but theres a chance most of these people could be ignorant business partners. He does have a civilian job too after all. I don't recognize anyone else in the room." Tatsumi nodded as he observed the crowd. "have you noticed them yet?" Tatsumi nodded, already knowing who Leone was talking about.

"Yea, those two in the right corner." Tatsumi said, pointing toward a rather large man with a large device on his back, and a man right next to him wearing large gloves, and looked rather...stylish. "They've got to be Adrien's backup from that special force Esdeath put together." The rest of them nodded. "If we do this, we should take them out too. Better to do it now than wait for later." Leone smirked.

"I like your style. With Adrien bound, we'll have a better chance of killing them anyway. You guys agree?" Leone asked, looking at Akame and Lubbock, who both nodded, ready to begin the true part of the operation. "Heres the plan."

* * *

Hayden Beauregard was not an impatient man, after all, getting the best deals involved waiting for the right time, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what was taking Night Raid so long. After all he had set up rather minimal defenses outside, and was more than willing to trust the jaegers that were on station. He couldn't say he wasn't a bit nervous a bout being the bait for a Night Raid operation, but he still had the utmost confidence in the empire's forces. _After all, if worse came to wor-_ The banker's thoughts were interrupted by the glass window above him breaking revealing a scantily clad blonde woman with cat ears, a tail, and furry paws, along with a black haired woman with red eyes wielding a large katana. He could have sworn he heard a third set of heavy footsteps as they landed. Then the blond woman jumped onto one of the serving tables that were roughly in the middle of the room as she began to speak.

"Alright! Listen up!" The woman announced loudly, noticing the two 'special' individuals rush to where she and Akame were. "We're here to kill that guy!" She said pointing at Hayden. "If anyone wants to stop us, then we'll kill you too, otherwise I would recommend-" Leone then stopped, noticing every single guest was retrieving some sort of weapon from within their clothing. Many men pulled out knives or brass knuckles, while the ladies retrieved some kind of thin rope or small handgun. "Oh."

"Its a trap!" Lubbock screamed aloud as he too dove in and began weaving threads in as many ways as possible, realizing they were drastically outnumbered. Even more so than they were used too. Then there were the Imperial arms users. This all screamed bad. Briefly he remembered Adrien warning him not to enter, and now realized he was actually trying to help him. This confusion only added to the cluster fuck they found themselves in.

Leone dodged a punch and stab from the two men closest to her, and proceeded to punch them both in the gut, her enhanced strength being enough to send them both flying, but before she could finish them off, a woman approached from behind and attempted to strangle her with the string, before she was headbutted by Leone. As she went for another punch, she felt more danger behind her as she was assaulted by another man using a pair of brass knuckles. She glanced over to Akame, and now Lubbock as they too seemed to struggle against the horde of attackers. While they were good fighters, so were the 'guests'. _They must have been specially trained._ Leone thought as she received a right hook to the face, but she followed it with a palm strike to the man's nose, breaking it.

"Time to end this little charade." Night Raid turned to see both of the individuals they had identified as Imperial arms users look at them with determined focus. The one that had been speaking was the one with peculiarly large gloves. "Get them." At those words, the walls burst open, the wood splintering as many more people revealed themselves, mosts of them being somewhat deformed, but moved as if they had above average agility. "Say hello to my pawns, I'm sure you'll be very entertained by them."

Bols was a bit shocked so many people had suddenly burst from walls, undoubtedly put there ahead of time. Nevertheless he took aim at the black haired girl, and the assassins that were occupying her gave him a clear shot. Right before a large spear made itself known as it tried to imbed itself within his head. It was only thanks to Dr. Stylish this did not occur. Bols then looked toward the spear to realize it was the wielder of the imperial arms Incursio, his form no longer invisible.

Akame noticed that Tatsumi had revealed himself out of the corner of her eye as she slashed at another woman that tried to get close with her small handgun. The cut was barely a scratch because of the distance, but the poison that was brought into the woman's blood stream from the cut was more than enough to kill her. Before she could go to assist Tatsumi, One of the strange humans got in front of her, and engaged her.

"So, you wield Incursio do you? Well that could be a problem." Dr. Stylish said to himself. _Every member of Night Raid is very physical, some more than others, while I have better reflexes thanks to my imperial arms, and Bols' Imperial arms can be used in close range...Adrian was the one meant to deal with the 'up close and personal engagements._ Dr. Stylish thought as he looked at each of the Night Raid members, three of them still fighting off the attendants and his pawns. "It would seem we require some assistance from our friend, distract him won't you Bols? Oh Adrien!" He called in a rather jovial tone, still not taking Night Raid's threat seriously. Bols in the meantime attempted to fire at the Incursio user with his flamethrower imperial arms, who swiftly dodged the attack.

Night Raid tensed up slightly at hearing Adrien's name called, but they kept fighting. After several seconds, nothing else happened. As Bols went to fire on Tatsumi again, but called over his shoulder to where the door from the hall to the outside was. The floor in front of him was quickly turning into an inferno from his attacks, and he was not content to just stand in a soon-to-be burning building.

"Adrien! We could use a little help here!" Bol's call for help was received with nothing, and more and more of the attendants were dying, along with Dr. Stylish's pawns. Bols dodged a strike from Tatsumi before he aimed again, and fired, this time barely clipping the Incursio user.

"Looks like your friend isn't coming, who knows he might be 'tied up' with something." Lubbock said in a joking tone as near invisible strings wrapped themselves around the throat of another one of Stylish's pawns, before the string tightened quickly, severing the altered human's head from his torso. The two other imperial arms users seemed to catch his drift.

"I think this calls for an evacuation." Bols said to Dr. Stylish, once again attempting to use his flamethrower imperial arms to cook the Incursio user. The doctor looked at the situation, the members of Night Raid had found someway to either kill or disable Adrien, They were running out of people that could die fro them, and he didn't have any of his stronger Team Stylish members with him. If they had come, this would be different. _A miscalculation that I thought I wouldn't need them, but regardless, Bols is right._ Dr. Stylish thought, before nodding, him and Bols making a beeline for the entrance. The Incursio user attempted to stop them, but was intercepted by a large blast of fire from Bols, this blast causing several feet of floor to be set on fire.

"They're escaping!" Tatsumi said angrily. Trying to rush the two imperial arms users.

"Tatsumi!" Akame yelled out, causing the assassin to stop. "The target!" The Tatsumi saw the corrupt banker, as he fumbled with his keys in front of a wall. Most likely where a hidden keyhole was. Tatsumi looked back at the imperial arms users, before rushing for the banker. Leone smirked, seeing Tatsumi focus on the mission, before slamming woman's skull in with her pawed fist. Several attendants broke off it intercept Tatsumi, but he either ran past them, or bisected them with his spear, showing no signs of stopping.

Hayden was getting more and more nervous, as he practically had to peel himself away from the violence. He was attempting to access one of the many secret passage ways he had, but with all the keys he had to keep track of on his key ring, he had inadvertently screwed himself. Thankfully none of Night Raid seemed to be after- A spear, red in color, and now dripping with Hayden's blood, He looked back to see the intimidating visage of the Incursio armor, before he died, almost instantly scumming to his injuries.

"Target's dead." Tatsumi said as he moved in to assist his fellow assassins. "Now we can deal with the two imperial arms users." Leone nodded as she sent an uppercut to a modified human, practically shattering his skull and jaw. Before she could comment though, her animal senses started screaming at her to leave right then. She noticed the same body of the modified human she had just killed was now glowing slightly.

"No, now we run."

* * *

The Mansion exploded from the inside, glass and debris being sent outward as a fireball manifested within it's hall, destroying it completely. The building shook, threatening to come down on top of itself, but ultimately stood firm. Outside two individuals were observing the spectacle. One with surprise, the other with satisfaction.

"How did that happen? Did you rig the house beforehand?" Bols asked in curiosity as he dodged a flaming wooden board that would have landed on his head. Dr. Stylish smiled as he opened his arms up wide.

"This! Is the result of my pawns true purpose. They were the backup plan my good Bols. We lure Night Raid in, and just in case we fail to kill them with the assistance of the fake guests, then I would activate the bombs I implanted all of my pawns with. My backup plan." Bols hummed in morbid astonishment at the way he had done it, and the strange effectiveness of it. "Now to find-" The Doctor was interrupted by an angry flaming blonde woman with ears and a tail screaming as she flew out of the building at him. Bols attempted to get in between them, but he received a wicked right hook from an invisible attacker. Leone then reached the Doctor, and using his gloves, redirected the strike to hit thin air.

Akame and Lubbock struggled to stand as they found themselves on the ground just in front of the now blazing mansion, saved by Tatsumi. It was at Leone's insistence of course. Her imperial arms greatly increased her healing ability, and allowed her to survive the explosion. However, they imagined it still hurt, as they weren't even caught in the direct blast, and were still barely capable of standing on their own strength. They could only watch as their friends fought for them.

"My my, a persistent one aren't you?" Dr. Stylish mocked as he once again reflected an attack. "You seem to not understand the power of my imperial arms. It allows me to do thing with an incredible amount of precision, meaning any attack you throw, I can deflect." He smirked as she grew more angry at that comment. Then the woman dropped down onto the ground, away from him, to put herself out. When she was extinguished, it revealed that he hair was singed black at every side, and most of her skin had turned a stomach churning burnt flesh color, with blisters and charred skin abound. It was quickly starting to revert to it's original shape and color, but the image would have been nonetheless haunting if normal people were there to witness it. Dr. Stylish was not a normal person, so this image did not affect him. Neither did it anyone else at the battlefield.

"We'll see about that. You're going to slip up soon, I can tell, and Adrien won't be there to help you." Lone said with a burnt smirk, while the Doctor smirked as well, both of them confident In their abilities. Right before they could attack each other again though, a large katana came down from behind the Doctor, his glove just barely catching it before it struck. Thanks to the precision he was endowed with, his fingers were only holding the blunt side of the blade, even if it was behind him. Leone seemed flabbergasted that he managed something like that against Akame. So she engaged, wanting to use their numbers to trip him up.

Bols once again jumped away from the armored assassin, attempting to set him ablaze yet again. But he noticed that Dr. Stylish was now facing two members of Night Raid, but before he could attempt to help, the green haired one jumped in his way. The two assassins had seemingly found more energy from nowhere, and now it was four on two.

Lubbock had been through quite a bit tonight, but seeing Leone like that, how she had insisted that she be the one not to be taken out of the blast zone, and the results of that, invigorated his drive to fight. Apparently it had done the same thing to Akame, as she too was now suddenly full of energy. Lubbock smirked, now the odds were in their favor, and now all that was left was to kill these two and capture Adrien. The assassin glanced over to where the shed was, which was visible from the front door, and was confused to only see a disturbed patch of ground. Tatsumi rushed Bols, and deciding that he probably just forgot where the shed was, Lubbock charged too.

Stylish was on his last leg, even with his enhanced precision, and reflexes, he doubted he would be able to survive much longer. He briefly glanced around, hoping to spot Adrien, but having no luck. That brief glace and lapse of focus was enough to be his downfall, as Akame struck, with the doctor attempting to dodge, only for his arm to be cut. He gasped, knowing what this meant. Both Leone and Akame jumped back, watching as the doctor shivered as he felt the poison from the blade travel up his arm. He backed up to the mansion, the women assassins facing him.

"It won't be long now." Akame said stoically. "The poison is in your blood stream, and will find it's way to your heart, eventually enveloping it and strangling it until you finally die." Dr. Stylish chuckled, and then burst out into full blown laughter. This caused the assassins to look at him in concern and wariness.

"Your right, I'll be dead soon, with all of my talents and intellect gone from this world." Dr. Stylish said with a bit of a sad tone in his voice. "But my legacy will live on, can you say the same Night Raid?" Leone scoffed at him.

"We'll have plenty of time to make our legacy after we win the war." The blonde said, while putting her paw-hand on her hip. Dr. Stylish chuckled again as a looming shadow fell over the two assassins.

"Are you sure about that?"

With a Thundering crash shook the ground as Adrien slammed the whole shed he had been attached to onto the two assassins. This caused all attention to be brought to Adrien, and the now partially crushed shed that had been dragged and picked up by the intimidating knight. He was still wearing his light armor, with his shield on his back, and his helmet still very much stood out as he looked at each of them. He was unable to see the doctor, as he was on the other side of the shed he had just used as a weapon. Then Leone burst from the shed, and punched Adrien in the face, causing a small amount of blood to spray from his mouth.

"I don't know how you keep doing this kind of shit, but from what I hear, I'm already getting tired of it. C'mon." Leone said threateningly. "I've been waiting to try my hand at you for a while." Then Leone attempted to attack the man, but she noticed he was still attached to Lubbock's strings. "looks like your still a bit tied up huh?" She asked in a mocking tone as she threw a punch, but he simply caught her throw. A small shockwave was created from the impact, and Adrien's fist was thrown back a few inches, but did not move any further. "W-What?" was the last thing Leone said before she was punched back by Adrien, being thrown back into the shed.

Lubbock and Tatsumi were both angry and shocked. Bols was more than relieved to see his teammate, but that relief soon fell way to concern as he saw Dr. Stylish fall. Adrien made a beeline for Bols, and as the strings around him tightened, he simply dragged the shed with him, only slowing his movement a little. Tatsumi and Lubbock both changed their focus to the shed-hauling undead.

Tatsumi thrust his spear at Adrien, only for him to bring his shield out to block the strike rather easily. Lubbock attempted to wrap his strings around the shield, but as soon as they seemed to make contact, the shield disappeared, and Adrien's hand was now in his box. This caused Lubbock to flinch, hearing about what that box could do. Then Adrien's armor changed. For a brief second, he was equipped in a heavy looking set of white armor that made him look like an Onion, but then he reverted back to his light armor set. This caused Lubbock to raise an eyebrow, before he realized that the strings that had been attached to Adrien were now stretched and too oversized to effectively keep him. He stepped out of the strings, freeing himself from the bonds.

 _Perhaps I should have done that sooner._ Adrien thought as he once again dug into his box and retrieved the shield of want with his zweihander. _Although I wasn't sure what would happen when I did it. Using the shed like that certainly did surprise them, and gave me an advantage._ Adrien rolled away from a series of string that would have entrapped him again, but now he expected those attacks to come. He blocked another strike from whoever now wielded that armor imperial arms. Although he had a pretty good idea. He then got next to Bols, and as he did, Leone burst through the shed once again, this time with Akame in tow, her head now sporting a small trickle of blood.

"Get Stylish, I'll hold them off." Adrien said curtly as he swung his sword at a charging Leone, who jumped over it, only to be headbutted by Adrien, his pointed helmet causing her more pain. Bols was about to object, but Adrien looked behind him at the larger man. "Go." Bols hesitated, but complied, running toward where Stylish was still lying down. The Incursio user was about to intervene when Adrien slammed his sword in front of the assassin, leaving an indent in the dirt, and allowing Bols enough time to get to Stylish. "So? Who are you?" Adrien asked as he got up close to the Incursio user, while also blocking an attack from Akame, her katana bouncing off his shield harmlessly.

"You already know me." Tatsumi said dangerously as he threw a fist at the knight, who rolled out of the way, and raised his shield just in time to block a strike from Leone. Lubbock's strings were sent out more like projectiles, and struck at Adrien's back, grey blood being elicited from the wounds. Tatsumi then charges, and Adrien puts up his shield again, but after so many consecutive attacks, his guard breaks, his shield being thrown to the side, but it was still attached to his arm. Akame then leapt over head, and dived onto Adrien. The knight put his sword up, and her katana scraped against his massive zweihander as she drove her blade into his shoulder. Adrien responded by grabbing her hard, and throwing her into Lubbock, the green haired assassin not having enough time to get out of the way. Leone and Tatsumi backed up, waiting for the knight to drop, but he didn't even show any signs that would indicate the poison from Akame's sword was working.

"Its true." Leone said with wide, slightly terrified eyes. "He's unaffected by her poison. I guess we'll just have to do this the hard way." Despite her words, Leone's animal instincts were telling her to run away, and get as far away from Adrien as possible. He was unnatural, he wasn't supposed to be here, he was dangerous. Nevertheless it was four on one now, and they needed to finish this. _For Bulat._ She thought to herself.

Lubbock and Akame righted themselves and faced Adrien, while he seemed more or less passive, with his shield at his side, and his sword over his shoulder, he glanced back, Night Raid following his gaze. His colleagues were gone, and now it was just him against four members of Night Raid.

"In all honesty, I do not hate you." Adrien said, his voice cool, and without emotion. "But I intend to change things from the inside. You will see. By the time you even get close to killing all of your targets, the empire will be changed." He allowed those words to set in, and Night Raid glared at him. Whether or not he was being earnest in what he said, they did not like him, and would not let his killing of Bulat go unpunished.

"Trying to change it from the inside?" Leone asked with amusement. "And just how far has that gotten you?" Lubbock tightened the strings on his weapon, while Akame steeled herself, her crimson gaze complimented by the streak of blood going down her face. Leone lowered herself, and put a single pawed hand on the ground in a ponce stance. Tatsumi gripped his spear with both hands, and stood tall, focusing on Adrien.

"The emperor seems to be coming to my side." Adrien's words made Night Raid freeze, and Adrien reached into his box. His armor changed again, his form now being covered in strangely shaped armor, the helmet looking more like window blinds, and the chest piece being an odd shade of red. It's tan trimming and material seemed to be made out of thin pieces of lapped metal. This was the eastern set, and with it, he was much more prepared for Akame and Tatsumi. On his hip was a thin black katana that had intricate carvings along it's blade. Adrien put one of his hands on the handle of the blade, and the other on the sheathe, ready to strike.

Everyone paused, the only sounds being heard as the crackling of the fire that was still going inside of the mansion. The group of assassins stared down their opponent, wary of what he could do. Then the whole of Night Raid struck at once. Akame jumped over head, attempting to attack him from above, Leone rushed to his right, a left hook prepped, Tatsumi charged his left, his spear poised for his neck, and Lubbock began to form a weapon out of his strings. Adrien back stepped, and when Night Raid attempted to follow him, he rolled forward, and struck. He brought his katana down onto Tatsumi, the young man just barely blocking the over head strike. Akame came down from above, seeing this as her chance, and Adrien turned around quickly, throwing a small knife in her direction, imbedding itself in her thigh. She cried out, but kept focus, attempting to strike. Adrien rolled out of the way once again.

Leone followed him, and as soon as he rose, he received a punch to the gut. Before Leone could follow through, Adrien returned to his previous ready-to-strike stance, and immediately afterward let loose a flurry of slashes at her, a thin purple line of energy following the tip fo the blade. She cried out as each strike cut inter her flesh, all of them exuding an unhealthy amount of blood. Adrien had to dodge a strike from Lubbock as he now held a thick looking very pointed spear made out of his string. Lubbock then threw it at him, but Adrien got into his strike stance again. He slammed down his sword heavily as a purplish black energy followed it. When it connected with the ground, it sent a shockwave towards the spear, which sent it up into the air, and out harms way. Adrien then ran for Lubbock.

Akame got to the undead first, and struck, but Adrien blocked her katana with his own. Then he received a heavy slash from Tatsumi as he struck from Adrien's side. Thankfully the armor dulled the damage, but knowing he was running out of energy, Adrien quickly took hold of his estus flask and drank, the golden liquid revitalizing him. Akame attempted to attack the flask, but Adrien returned it to it's belt, and instead received the katana to his chest, the sword penetrating his armor, and nearly coming put the other side. Adrien retaliated by slapping her with enough force to send her flying a few feet to his right.

Tatsumi assaulted the knight, but Adrien rolled out of the way, and struck Tatsumi's side with several slashes. The black blade struggled to penetrate Tatsumi's armor, but the force alone made the armored assassin stagger. Tatsumi could only watch as Adrien reared back his sword, and thrusted it into his chest. At least that would have been the case, if Lubbock hadn't grabbed onto Adrien's arm, and violently pulled the knight to him. The pull caused Adrien to lift off the ground for a few seconds before he landed right in front of Lubbock, who was once again holding his spear from before. Lubbock jumped back, but before he could get out of reach, Adrien struck his chest, leaving a small gash.

Tatsumi didn't waste a second, and thrusted his spear into Adrien's back, before kicking off of it as Adrien landed on his face. Before he could get up, Leone jumped on his back with a solid crunch, and began wailing on the back of his head. He forced himself up despite the beating, forcing Leone off his back to jump behind him. Adrien swiftly turned around and sliced horizontally behind him with all his strength. The resulting slash cut Leone's midsection, and left a nasty cut on Tatsumi's armor, who had been attempting to join Leone in her assault. Akame the rushed his side, slashing, and cutting his throat. Adrien gave no response except to get into his striking stance, and send a flurry of strikes at her, that she blocked with her own blade. He kept on the assault, each potential cut or slice being matched by the black haired assassin, but her strength was fading, as having to block each powerful attack was wearing her thin. Then she slipped, her katana was pushed too far from her, and could only watch as Adrien dealt a powerful slash to her shoulder and across her chest.

"Akame!" Lubbock cried as he threw his spear, only for it to be once again intercepted. This time by a blast of fire from the right. He looked to the source, only to see the flamethrower wielder there. His eyes widened as the man turned and shot his flames across the whole landscape in front of him, intending to douse them all. "Guys, we need to get out of here!" Lubbock yelled to the rest of his team, who then noticed what was goin one, and attempted to comply. Tatsumi held Leone up as she tried her beast to keep her guts from spilling out of the new flesh wound, while Akame slowly recovered, glaring at Adrien. He was right in front of her still, more than capable of killing her then and there. She gripped the blade of her katana, getting ready to use her trump card, only for Adrien to nod his head at her.

"Go. This fight is over." Akame's eyes widened, and wondered why. But decided to make her escape anyway. She leapt up onto the shed Adrien had dragged, and looked own to see him, now observing her and her team's escape. Akame thought she saw a flash of crimson behind his visor, before the flamethrower wielder set the shed ablaze as well, forcing her to jump onto a nearby balcony, and make her way onto the roof. Fleeing to Night Raid headquarters.

Bols looked over the new inferno he had just created, and watched as the shed, the grass, and a nearby tree burnt to the ground. For a few moments he waited, wondering if anyone had made it out alive. The he saw the familiar visage of Adrien in his pointed helmet armor as he emerged from the fire, with little to no visible damage.

"Are you okay?" Bols asked with trepidation, and Adrien nodded.

"I am, thank you for coming back." Adrien said as he continued to walk forward, Bols began following him, and held his head low.

"Dr. Stylish insisted I come back...before he died." Bols said somberly, and Adrien looked back to him. "The poison got to him finally, but he also said one other thing, and wanted me to tell you." Adrien stopped, and faced Bols, now curious what exactly the doctor wanted him to know. "He told me that he understood why Seryu likes you so much. You always have the most stylish entrances." Adrien couldn't hide the small chuckle he gave.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Discord Server:** /uDxVym8

 **I'm back! And not dead, I promise. What took me so long? I had a break. A long two week break where I was with my family out of state fro Christmas and new years. So I was also away from my computer the whole time. Sorry it took so long, but I really needed that break. I also really appreciate all of my new followers that started following during the holidays.**

 **So how do I say sorry? With a chapter thats nearly 11K words long! Hope you guys enjoyed your late Christmas present. Now I should be back to a normal writing schedule, and the next update will be Shop Class. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14-Soul of the truth part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the Truth part 2**

Dr. Stylish's funeral was rather extravagant, as Esdeath had made sure that he was well honored for his scientific service to the empire. Unfortunately, this did not stop the proceedings from feeling almost fake. Aside from Stylish's extended team of modified humans and the Jaegers themselves, especially Seryu, no one else at the funeral really truly cared for him. There were a few nobles that knew him, and were partners in his scientific research, but they would never be as involved as the doctor himself, while many others saw his rampant modification of humans outright disturbing.

The emperor sympathized with the team of imperial arms users, but he did not know the doctor personally, so his presence there, along with the prime minister's was purely political. General Budo would have been forced to attend was it not for him wanting to beef up security in the recruiting stations and some of the small forts outside of the capital. Everyone that was there was dressed in proper attire, often a black dress or a back suit. Except for Adrien, who was instead wearing the Drakeblood armor set, making him stand out amongst the crowd. Esdeath had originally wanted him to wear a tux, but after he had showed her the armor, she figured the regal looking set would work even better.

"Although, it would be nice if you were okay with showing your face." Esdeath commented as she stood next to Adrien, the two of them observing the gathering. The Jaegers, barring themselves and Seryu were sitting by a table, most of them drinking something. Except for Kurome and Bols, who chose not to drink anything. Seryu was still by where Dr. Stylish had been lowered into the ground, with Koro right next to her. The two of them had very sullen expressions on their faces. The sky above them all was grey, a clear mirror to the mood on the ground.

"I prefer to have a helmet on, or at least some form of protection." Adrien replied, as he watched the nobles and aristocrats chat. Most of them talking about things that had nothing to do with what was happening right before them. Adrien then looked over to the emperor, who was on a small stand with the prime minister. The child emperor looked rather displeased, although Adrien could not tell why.

"I do not think you have to worry about that here my dear." Esdeath reassured, and Adrien glanced at her, still confused why she was so enamored with him. _Have I done something for her to gain her interest? Perhaps it is some trait I possess? It does not matter now I suppose. She will find out the err of her ways in time._ Adrien thought to himself. "Anyways, how do I look?" She suddenly asked, and Adrien glanced at her. She had a simple black sleeveless dress on, but was also form fitting, accentuating her rather impressive assets. Her arm was still bandaged, and she was still favoring her uninjured leg, but other than those two things, she had recovered rather quickly from their bout. So quickly, that Adrien was fairly certain that whatever allowed her to do so, was not natural.

"You look nice." Adrien responded simply, and while Esdeath would have liked to have gotten a better reaction from him, she still smiled at the compliment. _I want to see more of him._ Esdeath thought as she stepped a bit closer to the knight. _I want to know more of him, this mystery both infuriates me, and fascinates me at the same time. Perhaps when I begin training him tomorrow, I will see more of him._ Her thoughts were cut off when a familiar face began approaching them, and Esdeath couldn't help but frown.

"Ashen one? May I speak with Seryu? I feel she is feeling great sorrow." The Firekeeper asked as she approached from where there were refreshments being served. Adrien responded immediately.

"Not yet, when she has had some time to think, then you may speak with her. In the meantime, go stay with the Jaegers." The Firekeeper nodded before she went over to where the Jaegers were, being able to sense their distinct souls. Adrien looked over at Seryu and frowned behind his helmet. He understood her pain, but she needed to handle this pain on her own first, only then will she grown stronger.

"Impossible." Kurome objected after hearing Bols recount his mission two nights ago. "No one can survive Murasame's blade. Unless you think he's some kind of imperial arms...or he isn't alive." Bols shook his head, more so in confusion than disagreement.

"I don't know, but I saw what I saw." Bols reaffirmed, and Wave seemed both stunned and confused.

"So, let me get this straight." Wave began, attempting to get a grasp of the situation he was being confronted with. "We have a super strong, super tough guy that can whip out super powerful weapons and armor at a whim, can use firearms, some kind of fire magic, almost beat Esdeath in a fight, AND he's immune to the poison of the one-cut-killer!? Who the hell is this guy!?" He said a bit louder that he meant too, but thankfully no one else at the party seemed to really care. Run hummed as he put a hand up to his chin.

"He's obviously someone that hasn't been showing all of his cards. If what we've seen so far is any indication of what he can do, there's no telling what else he's hiding inside that box...or himself." Run said as Wave nodded. In all honesty, Run was a bit thankful that Adrien was on their side. He knew for a fact that he didn't want to be on the receiving end of any of Adrien's weapons. He reached for his drink and took a sip, the wine creating a pleasant warmth within him. Then he sensed someone approaching behind him. He turned to see the Firekeeper, or her now proper name, Lilith.

"Hey Lilith, wanna sit down?" Bols offered, gesturing toward the empty seat next to him. She nodded in thanks before taking a seat, albeit a bit hesitantly due to her inability to actually see it.

"Well...How are you?" Wave asked with some trepidation, him and no one else wanting to really continue their previous conversation with the woman around. At least at the moment.

"I am fine, but I wish the circumstances were different." Lilith replied.

"Don't we all." Bols said, seemingly echoing everyone's thoughts. They were all silent for a moment before Wave spoke up again.

"What's going to happen now? Are we going to do the next mission? Or is Esdeath going to want to find a new member?"

"She may." Run said, while looking over to the general in question. "Although we will most likely simply continue on with the next mission, whenever and whatever that may entail."

"Lilith." Kurome suddenly said, looking toward the woman. Lilith moved her head toward the young girl, her face mask staring into the girl's eyes. "What is Adrien?" Her question had a sense of force in it, as if she suspected what the answer might be, while the other Jaegers looked on in curiosity.

Lilith was not sure what to say back. She could tell the the truth, but would the Ashen one want that? And if she lied, would that also not cause more trouble in the future? They were all expecting an answer of some kind, and in all honesty, she wanted to tell them the truth but decided to avoid the question.

"It is not my place to speak in the Ashen one's stead. He would answer your question if you asked him." Kurome narrowed her eyes at the woman but decided not to press the issue.

"Hey Kurome, didn't you mean 'who is Adrien'? Not 'what'" Wave said with a hint of confusion, and Kurome got up, her bag of cookies still in her hand.

"I said what I meant."

* * *

"So, what exactly does this 'training' entail?" Adrien asked, as he and Esdeath approached the same yard where they had their duel several days ago. Esdeath had discussed with him about how she wished to train areas of combat in which he lacked. If Adrien was honest with himself, it had offended him a little, but soon got over it. He could get better, as everyone can improve, but he doubted how Esdeath could show him something he did not already have a firm grasp on though.

"Don't misunderstand, your combat skills are impressive, but there is one particular area I believe you could certainly improve in." Esdeath responded, her voice not condescending, but instead had a slight admiration in it. Adrien noticed this , but did not comment further. "Now, stand there." She said, pointing to a plain spot on the grassy ground. Adrien complied, and was now facing Esdeath. "Close your eyes and don't move. If you sense something about to happen, act on it." He nodded again.

Esdeath began to circle the knight, stalking him, like a Tiger would its prey. _He really hasn't moved, nor is his head turning._ Esdeath thought as she looked at his face, the abyss watcher helmet allowing her to see his eyes were still closed. She quietly circled to his back, and silently made a rapier of ice. She pointed it at his back in preparation for a strike, but he didn't move. _Even with me exerting this much Killing intent, he isn't reacting at all._ Esdeath swiftly drover her rapier into Adrien's back, and retracted it. The knight turned around with his large zweihander and shield, preparing for a fight. _It is like I suspected, he doesn't have any idea what a murdering intent feels like, or he's simply completely numb to it._ Esdeath concluded as she dropped the ice rapier. _Bu at the same time..._

"I've seen what I need too. You completely lack any sense of Killing Intent." Esdeath sated firmly. "While you may not be able to sense it, you also don't convey it either. A blessing and a curse." Adrien looked at her for several moments before shaking his head.

"What exactly is 'Killing Intent'?" Adrien's question caused Esdeath to chuckle.

"It's a feeling someone radiates when they are trying or planning to kill someone. Some people can learn to pick up on this feeling with training or they can learn to control the killing intent they put out with similar techniques. The former is exactly the kind of training I'll be teaching you, how to detect killing intent. You already seem to lack giving it off already, but if you could sense it, you would be nearly unstoppable." Esdeath's smile could be called satisfied, but excited would be another appropriate term.

Adrien considered this, as he had never thought about or experienced a real 'Killing Intent'. If such a thing existed, then Esdeath was right. He would be much stronger. The problem is that his status as an undead might actually be hampering this 'killing intent' from having an impact on him. Esdeath got his attention again.

"For the next few hours we will be working on your ability to sense Killing intent." Esdeath said, as she once again formed some weapons from ice. "Let's begin."

* * *

"This is quite nice Seryu." Lilith said as she sipped on some tea next to the young guard in question. Seryu hummed as she sipped some tea herself, and Koro licked up a bowl of water on the ground next to her.

"It is, I'm glad we can do this kind of thing." Seryu said happily, before she looked down with a solemn expression. "I wish Dr. Stylish could join us." Lilith frowned at that, but before she could respond, Bols entered the room. He was wearing an apron on top of his normal white pair of pants, and he was holding a baking sheet of cookies.

"I've made cookies!" He said with excitement, before he noticed the atmosphere in the room, and how Seryu and Lilith were both rather downtrodden. From behind him, a woman with a young girl in her hands appeared as well. Seryu seemed to perk up a bit.

"Bols." Seryu paused, and looked to the two others behind her. "Kije, Lougue, sorry, I'm just thinking about Stylish." Seryu said sadly, and Bols nodded in understanding.

"I hope we aren't intruding." The one named Kije said with a bit of solemness. She was a woman roughly Bol's age with long light brown hair and wore a frilly pick dress with white baggy short sleeves. The young girl she was holding wore a small pink dress, had bright blue eyes, and short blonde hair. She had a slightly worried and confused expression on her face as she observed the room. Seryu smiled a fake smile as they entered.

"I'll be fine, still a bit mournful I guess." Seryu reassured, and Kije nodded. Bols approached the two and set the tray of cookies down on the table they were sitting at. Lougue's eyes brightened up as her mother sat down at the table, within arms reach, of the tray.

"Well, please, eat as many as you like." Bols said and Seryu nodded in thanks, but made no move for the baked treat. Lilith however, did. She carefully reached out, and accidently touched the still hot tray, eliciting a small gasp.

"Oh, here Ms. Lilith," Kije said as she let Lougue sit on the edge of the table and plucked some of the cookies from the tray. One she gave to Lilith, who nodded in thanks, one she gave to Lougue who gleefully began to eat, and another she gave to Bols.

"Thanks honey." Bols said as he observed his daughter eat with glee.

"I am glad your family hath came to visit." Lilith said as she took a bite of the cookie. "Their company is most pleasant." Bols laughed a bit.

"Thank you, Ms. Lilith, I'm glad I was able to visit too." Kije said and then faced Lougue. "With Bol's type of work, it's a bit difficult to be able to visit him often, but Lougue couldn't last long without seeing her father." She smiled as she said this, and Lougue seemed to affirm this with a nod.

"Yea! I wanted to see daddy!" Lougue said with glee, before Bols picked her up, eliciting an excited sequel from the girl. Lougue then giggled as she was placed on Bol's shoulders.

"Thats my girl! I don't know what I would do without seeing you two for too long either." Bols laughed as Lougue giggled on his shoulders. Kije laughed as well, and Lilith listened to them with a content smile on her face. Seryu looked over to them, and had a rather genuine smile, although it was laced with the same mournful sadness she had earlier. Lilith placed a hand on Seryu's shoulder, even without looking, and the blind woman smiled.

"How touching." A new voice said with fake genuineness. Everyone turned to see a young man standing in the doorway to the Jaeger meeting room they were in. He had dark skin, and light purple hair, and an X shaped scar on his face. He was rather muscular, and only wore a skin tight; half-shirt for his torso, and what looked like a half-kilt with long leggings, all white. He had a rather shit-eating grin on his face, as if everything was about to go according to plan. "My name is Syura, and I couldn't help but notice that a very particular girl was here." He said as he stared at Lilith. "I hope you don't mind if I... Barge in?"

"W-Who are you?" Seryu asked, unsure of the new arrival, and discomforted by his tone. Syura's smirk only grew in size.

"Who am I? Why, you all should know that already right?" The man asked, and licked his lips, making the others that could see him uncomfortable.

"Well we don't." Bols suddenly stated, handing his daughter back over to Kije. "Why don't you inform us, Syura." The hostility in his tone was not lost on anyone and was to be expected. His friends, and his wife and child were all there. This Syura was not giving him a feeling of trustworthiness either. The man's smile dropped a bit as he fetched an item on his belt. Seryu and Bols stood up, not knowing what the device was, nor expecting it to be some kind of party favor.

"He is the Prime Minister's son." Another new voice called, this one much more familiar. Esdeath walked in to the room with an unamused expression, her eyes being fixed on the dark skinned; man. From behind her, Adrien approached as well, and upon noticing everyone that was in the room, and the new, very much potential threat, he quickly got between the table and the man.

"Oh, Esdeath is here, and she brought a guest." Syura said, looking over to Adrien. "You're that powerful knight I keep hearing about. Then maybe I should make my intentions clear." Adrien focused his gaze on the man, sizing up the kind of threat he could pose. "That woman over there, the blind one, she's your servant, right? I want her. Plain and simple. I've been with a lot of women before, but I've never seen such a radiant beauty. Hand her over, and I promise I won't kill all of you at a later date." The sheer boldness of his statement made everyone pause, and Esdeath glared at him. Kije hid Lougue and held her close, while Bols still stood defensively. Seryu glared at the man for daring to threaten her friend, while Adrien stood stock still, seemingly giving no reaction to Syura.

"I don't think that's going to happen." Esdeath said, making Syura shift his attention to her. "While I have no attachment to Adrien's little servant, he does, and if he winds up fighting you over her, I will have no choice but to aid him. As his Lover, it is my duty to do this much." Syura seemed very surprised by that.

"You two are together?" Syura asked with disbelief, then he seemed to realize the kind of situation he found himself in. He was confident in his abilities, but to take on the empire's strongest, a man with comparable strength, and two other imperial arms users on top of that? Even he had to admit it wouldn't be smart to pick a fight now. "Fine. But one day I'll have my hands on that little flower of yours." Syura said with a wicked smile, before he turned around left out the doorway he came through.

"That was...the prime minister's son?" Seryu asked incredulously, and Esdeath nodded as she approached the rest of them.

"Yes, and as much as I would love to say that you should all ignore him... he has both influence and strength. Although if he does cause real trouble, come to me. I'll take care of it." Esdeath explained, before she turned to Adrien. "Unless your Adrien and can simply beat him if it ever came to a fight." Her voice was laced with humor, and while Seryu and Bols did chuckle a bit, Adrien did not seem amused.

"He threatened the Firekeeper." Adrien stated simply, still keeping his eyes on where Syura had left. "He threatened all of us." Bols nodded at this.

"I agree." Bols said, turning to Esdeath. "He said 'all of you' while Kije and Lougue were here. That doesn't exactly instill any kind of confidence that he won't try to come again, when we aren't all here." Esdeath seemed to consider that as she put a hand to her chin.

"We'll simply have to be on the lookout. At the moment, there's nothing I can do about a simple threat. Like I said though, if he appears again, come get me." Bols nodded at Esdeath's words, as did Seryu. Adrien glanced at her but nodded as well. This elicited a smile from the general. "Now, why don't we all go get a bite to eat?"

* * *

Akame winced as Susanoo redressed her wounds. She was covered in bandages, one particularly large bandaged was draped across her chest and shoulder where Adrien had inflicted a rather heavy strike. Tatsumi and Lubbock were next to her as well. While Incursio had protected Tatsumi from the majority of any injuries, there was still some potential internal trauma that had been addressed some time ago. Meaning the teen was also covered in bandages that sheathed his chest. Lubbock had not been so lucky, as the green haired assassin had been nicked and sliced not only by Adrien's strange attacks, but also by the fake guests and strange humans that they also had to deal with that night.

"That stings." Lubbock said as he rubbed his chest where he had been struck by Adrien. Tatsumi looked at him incredulously. They were all inside of the mess hall within their headquarters, having just finished with their breakfast.

"Really? We all got our asses handed to us. No need to whine." Tatsumi said, and before Lubbock could retort, Leone walked in. The blonde was also covered in bandages, although the most prominent wound was on her mid-section, there were quite a few smaller bandages around her arms, shoulders, and chest.

"Hope you guys are doin good, cause I'm doin great!" Leone exclaimed cheerily, and the three injured assassins glared at her. "Oh right, no regeneration hehe." She said sheepishly, before a more sympathetic expression crossed her face. "But in all seriousness, you guys doing alright?"

"I guess. Just really sore." Tatsumi said as he moved his hand to where Adrien had struck his side multiple times. Leone nodded as she approached the teen.

"Well, if your up to it, we still have a mission coming up." Leone said, and Tatsumi nodded, remembering how they discussed details a few days ago.

"That right, the assistant to the leader of the path of peace right?" Tatsumi asked, and Leone nodded, a cheeky smile on her face.

"Yep, I guess he didn't hit you too hard, or else you might have forgotten." Leone chuckled, as did Tatsumi and Lubbock. "Think you'll still be up to it?" Tatsumi nodded, a determined smile on his face. "Good. What about you Lubbock? Think you'll be able to work for a living?" Lubbock chuckled a bit at her words.

"Give me another day and I think I'll be alright." Lubbock said while flexing his hands, before he turned to Akame. "But..." Akame fixed him with a crimson gaze, her eyes narrowing slightly. Tatsumi and Leone looked to the black haired; assassin with a bit of worry. Realizing this, Akame sighed as she closed her eyes.

"I know." Akame conceded. "I can't fight like this, but you all have Sheele. She'll be more than enough to ensure the mission goes smoothly." Akame said with her usual emotionless tone, before she glanced at the ground. Susanoo had just finished his work and stood up to look at all of them.

"Do not worry, I will do my best to ensure that this 'Adrien' pays for his crimes." Susanoo said suddenly, causing the rest of the assassins there to look at him with a slightly shocked expression, but a no less satisfied one. Tatsumi stood up as well and approached the living imperial arms.

"Thank you, Susanoo. That means a lot." Tatsumi said earnestly, and Susanoo gave the young assassin a small smile. Lubbock looked to Leone, who seemed to have a satisfied smile on her face as she watched the exchange. Akame looked up at them and smiled herself, but a lingering worry couldn't help but stay in her mind about what might come to be.

* * *

Mine walked quickly through the halls of Night Raid's headquarters, her steps echoing slightly within the empty hall. She was approaching her destination with a determined, if not threatening expression on her face, and was walking with aggressive speed. Then she reached where she needed to be. A simple door, one of many that was inside of Night Raid's headquarters, but this one in particular was different, not only because it led to a bedroom, but because it led to the bedroom of one of their newest members, Lapp.

"Lapp!" Mine announced loudly as she slammed the door open, not even waiting on him to respond. She found the armored man sitting on his bed, holding a book, and now looking at her through his helmet's visor. "You'll be going on a mission with us soon. Even though you haven't had official training by us, the Boss says your ready to go...So I need to tell you something." Her gaze remained serious as she stared directly into his visor. "You better be good at fighting, cause if I find out any one of us got hurt because you didn't do your job right, I'll kill you myself." Lapp closed the book as he chuckled a bit.

"Is that so? Then I'll make it my utmost duty to protect the rest of my comrades then." Lapp said plainly, and Mine appraised him for a few moments, searching for any signs of dishonesty. She did not see one, but also found him hard to read because of his helmet. He always wore it...just like she assumed Adrien did.

"And why exactly should I trust you with that? The Boss might have let you in, but I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we don't exactly trust you." Mine said boldly, and Lapp looked at the ground.

"I know, and I apologize if I seem... untrustworthy, but I promise you, I will protect your friends in this next mission. If I had been with them during the last one, I would have tried my best to have taken the most strikes." Lapp said plainly, and Mine raised an eyebrow at that.

"Confident in your armor, are you?" Mine asked with a bit of a smug look, but Lapp nodded nonetheless.

"Very, but also my Shield, as it has never not withstood a strike." Lapp said, looking over to where his shield and strange halberd were leaning against the far wall. Mine was actually closer to the weapons than he was. Mine examined the weapons from a distance, but she couldn't really tell how good they were, only that from the marks and scratches they had, the weapon and shield had seen a fair bit of action.

"Alright, well...I guess I'm going to have to trust you, make sure you make a good first impression." Mine said, before she turned a left the man to his book. Lapp stared at the door for a second, before he let out a sigh.

 _These people...Night Raid. They're suspicious of me, even more suspicious than Adrien was when I had lost my memory, but once I show them they can trust me... well, It'll make my life a bit easier._ Patches thought to himself before he opened up his book again. _I should find a way to apologize to Adrien for the trouble I'm about to cause him.. but I can't just wait for him to fix everything._ Patches looked to his great-shield and split-leaf great-sword leaning against the wall, remembering the times he had helped Adrien in the ringed city. _Soon we'll meet again my friend, on the battlefield, but for the first time, fighting one another._

* * *

Syura walked rather angrily toward a large unmarked room deep within the Empire's palace. He had a displeased look on his face as he thought to himself. He entered the room in this state, and the people that were already in there noticed this. The room itself wasn't very spacious, but it served it's purposes that Syura needed it too.

"Hey Syura, whats wrong?" A girl asked, looking up from a large book, her hooded jacket hiding her body, but allowed full view of her short, bob-style cut hair, glasses, and pair of bunny ear accessories.

"You remember that woman I was telling you about yesterday?" Syura began, his question earning a nod from the girl.

"How could we not?" A man's scratchy voice asked. Syura looked over to see a lean, muscular man with an outfit that revealed his chest. he had a bob-style like cut similar to the girl, and had small, light colored eyes. "You've been talking about her for what seems like a week. Even if it's only been a few days."

"Cut me a break Enshin." Syura said as the lean man just shook his head. "Anyways, I was about to take her when Esdeath and her cronies essentially cock-blocked me. Its annoying. I doubt my old man would just tell her to back off either." Syura said as he slumped down onto a chair and put his arms and head on the table in front of it. Enshin hummed as he looked over to the girl.

"What do you think Cosmina?" The ma asked, and the girl hummed herself.

"Fuck Esdeath." Cosmina said suddenly, a cheery expression on her face. Both Enshin and Syura seemed a bit shocked by her words.

"I think she'd be the one doing the fucking." Syura said sarcastically, and Cosmina just shook her head.

"I don't mean literally, just forget whatever she told you, and just kidnap that woman. I mean, it shouldn't be too hard, you said she was blind right?" Syura nodded, as he put a hand to his chin in contemplation. "Yea! So just wait until nighttime and scoop her up!" Enshin turned to Syura.

"But your concerned about that Adrien guy, right? I heard about the fight he had with Esdeath, nearly beat her too. I wouldn't be too eager myself knowing that guys around, but as long as you slip under the radar, you'll be able to have your way with that woman before he even wakes up." Syura began to smile rather sinisterly as he considered that option. "And if it ever comes down to it, lead the guy on a chase, and the rest of us will help you take 'm down somewhere safe."

"A great Idea!" Syura declared, and then he began to look around "Where is everyone else? Out and about?" Syura asked with a bit of curiosity.

"Pretty much." Enshin said, a sly smile on his face. "They'll be gone for a few days. I was actually thinking about joining them. Wanna come?" Syura frowned a bit, before he closed his eyes with a sigh.

"I suppose, but once we come back, I'm going to have that woman. Oh, there is a reason I needed to know where the others were." Both Cosmina and Enshin looked at him curiously. "Turns out One of Esdeath's little cronies has a lovely looking wife and daughter." Enshin's eyes widened as his tongue lolled out a bit at the thought, a wicked smile on his face. Cosmina chuckled lightheartedly, as if she had just been told a cute joke.

"Oh wow, I bet Champ's going to have a lot of fun then, isn't he?" She said to herself, remembering how much one particular member of their 'special group' just 'loved' children.

* * *

 **Authors notes**

 **A little bit of a shorter chapter, but I wanted to get it out as its been another full month between uploads. I apologize for that, but my schoolwork and my 'work work' has been taking priority. If the chapter seems a bit rushed, thats because it was...just a little. Remember, constructive criticism is always welcome, and reviews always help! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15-Soul of the Weary

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls or Akame ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the Weary**

Seryu sighed dejectedly as she twiddled with some grass in her hands. Currently the former guard was sitting with Koro in one of the many courtyards within the palace. She idly played and toyed with the grass, but her mind kept going back to Dr. Stylish, and how there was no longer anything she could do to help him. Then she gripped the grass in her hand hard as a scowl appeared on her face. Her thoughts routinely drifted from sorrow to anger, her desire for vengeance and her grief fighting for domination within her psyche

"Seryu?" A soft voice came from behind her, and Seryu's expression quickly changed from a scowl to that of surprise. She turned around to see Adrien's familiar visage, his distinct pointed helmet being a dead give away. "I apologize if I was disturbing yo-"

"No! No! Its fine Mr. Adrien, really... I was just thinking." Seryu said a bit dejectedly, and Adrien's sympathy toward the girl showed as he put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him.

"If you are not ready to talk about Dr. Stylish, then thats okay. If you do want to talk, you have to only ask." Adrien's words struck Seryu suddenly, as she simply stared at him in bewilderment. A few moments passed as Adrien waited to see if Seryu was about to say anything else. "I believe I will leave you to your thoughts then." Adrien released his hold on her shoulder, and before he could even turn, Seryu tackled him to the ground while burying her face in his chest. Soft sobs came from her as she kept her face in Adrien's chest. The undead said nothing.

"I'm sorry." Seryu managed out between sniffles. "I just don't want that to happen to anyone else... especially not you... and just thinking about it makes me really scared." Seryu looked up to Adrien with a tearful expression, but Adrien simply sat up a bit, and rubbed her head, allowing the girl to rest on him in a sitting position. "I don't want to lose anyone else. Not you, General Esdeath, or anyone else in the Jaegers."

"Do not worry, I will be fine. And I will do my best to keep everyone else safe. As long as they don't mind me making a bit of a show." Adrien replied a bit coyly, which made Seryu freeze for a moment, before she looked up to Adrien again with surprise, before she began to chuckle. That chuckle soon grew into a laugh as she laid there. She quieted down, and then looked at Adrien with an unreadable smile.

"Mr Adrien, I want to get stronger, so I can protect others better. So I can protect people like you do. You've shown me a lot Mr. Adrien. While I really want to go after Night Raid for everything they've done, I also know that we need to be really cautious. Like you are." This time it was Adrien's turn to chuckle a bit.

"Me? Cautious? Whatever do you mean? I never saw myself as a cautious person." Adrien said, but Seryu shook her head.

"Maybe not cautious, but... thoughtful. You never rush into a situation and always try to talk things out if you can." _Most of the time._ Adrien thought to himself, recalling many a times he's hit first and asked questions later. "I want to be more like you Mr. Adrien, and I was wondering if you would train me?" This caught Adrien a bit off guard, as he had not expected anyone to ever ask him that. "Please?" Seryu added, while looking up at him with the best puppy eyes she could manage. Even though his heart had stopped pumping blood long ago, even Adrien had to admit it was cute. Koro attempting to plead with her did not help his situation.

"I-I do not know if I would be the right one to train you." Seryu's eyes lowered for a moment as he said this. "But if it is what you wish, then I will do my best. We will begin after this next mission." Seryu could not have been any more excited.

"Thank you!" Seryu cried out as she hugged Adrien's neck. She released him and rested against him one again a content sigh escaping her lips. Adrien decided to let her be, and simply placed a hand on her head as she seemed to want to drift to sleep. Her conflicting feelings about fighting Night Raid and the confirmation that he would train her undoubtedly making her a bit tired. Soon she went to sleep right there in his lap, and Adrien sighed a bit, thinking about how exactly he would train her.

She had become quite the handful since he first met her, but it was nice to have someone like her... almost like a daughter. Something he would never have the chance to have his own of. He rubbed her head unconsciously, and felt Koro curl up beside him. _She is so naive the world around her though, perhaps I can use this as an opportunity to show her why the Prime Minister must be stopped. Perhaps even gain some sympathy for Night Raid from her._

"I see you two are getting along well." Esdeath's voice suddenly called from behind him, loud enough for him to hear, but not loud enough to disturb Seryu. She approached the armored man and the young girl and stood to Adrien's left with an amused smile on her face. "Thinking about adopting already?" She asked in jest while observing the two of them.

"Hmm, I do dote on her a bit don't I?" Adrien asked absentmindedly, as he looked down to Seryu, then to Esdeath. An uncomfortable feeling came over him. He hadn't thought about what Esdeath would do if she saw them, but thankfully his nervousness was for naught. If anything she quite approved of their closeness. Without a word, Esdeath walked right next to Adrien and sat down, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Perhaps there is one other you could dote on as well?" She asked a bit coyly, and she snuggled up to him, her warm body pressing against the cold leather armor of the Undead Legion. Adrien responded by rapping his left arm around her while keeping his right on Seryu's head. She hummed contently.

"You know, I'm glad I met you, even if we haven't know each other for very long, the fact that I have met a worthy enough opponent has been a grand experience." Esdeath said as she rested against her 'Lover'. "Of course, I'm sure that we will have many more grand moments and experiences in the future..." Esdeath said a bit absentmindedly as her imagination seemed to come out of her mouth on her own. "Dates, Parties, Battles, Oh, and finally destroying Night Raid of course. Plus late nights with just the two of us." She said while rubbing against him a bit more, but received no response. "Its what I always wanted, a man that not only challenged me in a fight, but one that is also able to be with me." Adrien said nothing as Esdeath seemed to end her rant and settled into her postilion against him.

 _That is her reasoning?_ Adrien thought to himself. _Because I'm strong? Well... I already knew that. But still. To choose a mate for life so vainly. Its almost insulting, as if there is nothing else that interests her... why would I care about her if she doesn't care about me?_ Adrien looked down to the general, and saw she too had drifted into unconsciousness. _Unless she truly does care, and that strength was merely the final condition that had to be met for her to 'take me'._ Adrien shook his head. If there was one thing he was certain about the General, was that she was not a typical person, nor was she one to simply be written off as 'odd'. He would have to understand her better if he was to perhaps persuade her to the side of good. _As of now, I need to convince Seryu, Esdeath, and the other jaegers that the empire must be reformed, and the prime minister be ousted. Then these people can truly have peace._

* * *

Sheele sighed as she followed Mine and Tatsumi as the two assassins once again got into a insult-off. The three of them were on point as they and the rest of Night Raid headed toward the town where the assistant to the leader of the Path of Peace operates. Sheele's thoughts drifted a bit, as they always do, and she thought about what would happen if that team of imperial arms users comes after them. If they did it would be a hard fight. After all, They have both Esdeath and Adrien on their side.

That brought another subject that Sheele had been through in her mind several times. The mystery knight that had mercy on her, but had also killed her friend, and gotten in the way of a mission. Her nose scrunched absentmindedly as she wondered just what the knight's goal was. He didn't kill her, nor did he kill Akame when he had the chance. But he did kill Bulat. Of course, Akame was heavily wounded, and might not completely recover based on what Susanoo had said to the group later one when he examined her wounds more extensively. Originally they figured it might have simply been a flesh wound, but the torn tendons and muscles said otherwise.

Sheele shook her head as her thoughts began to wander again. The dirt path in front of them was quiet, with trees on either side, and the assassin couldn't help but appreciate the serenity of it. The scenery that is, not the present company.

"Your fuse is just as short as your body!" Tatsumi rebutted Mine for the umpteenth time. And the pink-clad assassin huffed in tiredness.

"Is that all you can make fun of you country bumpkin? If your this bad at it, then insults are about as bad as your skill with girls." Mine said with her arms crossed as Tatsumi fumed at the latest insult.

"Like your one to talk, even Lubbock doesn't go after you. Lubbock might be a pervert, but he's not desperate." Mine's demeanor shifted a bit as that particular logic made a bit too much sense to her.

"Like I'd want that idiot's attention anyway." Mine said, but before she could one again berate Tatsumi, two new presences made themselves known by speaking up from behind the three of them.

"Hey you guys! Stop arguing like some kind of old married couple!" Leone's voice called out, and the three looked behind them to see the rest of Night Raid catching up. Leone and Chelsea were in front, while Lubbock and Lapp were right behind them, with the green haired teen a few more steps away from the armored man than was really necessary. Sheele waved to them as her Mien and Tatsumi stopped, allowing the rest of them to meet up.

"So whats up? You wanted us to go ahead just in case there was any trouble right?" Mine asked while crossing her arms and waiting for the blonde to respond, who did so with a joyful expression.

"Good news, just got a message from boss." Leone said while holding a small scroll, small enough that a carrier pigeon could deliver it. She opened it up to read it verbatim. "I have received word from HQ that a new imperial arms user has joined our cause, she will meet you at the temporary headquarters within Kyoroch. She will help make up for the fact me and Susanoo are not there. Be sure that she feels welcome." Najenda's message made Tatsumi's, Mine's, and Sheele's eyes widen a bit. The sudden news something they were not expecting.

"Really? Thats unexpected." Tatsumi said, while looking up at the sky in brief thought.

"Way to point out the obvious blockhead." Mine responded coldly, causing Tatsumi's expression to turn into a scowl. "Well it's good news, but this doesn't exactly effect us right now, does it?" Leone's smile only faltered a bit before she nodded.

"Yea, she just wanted to let us know in advance. Najenda wasn't really given a say in her inclusion, but I doubt she's going to complain either." Leone added, while looking around the path. "Seems like everything's clear here, haven't run into anything have you?" Sheele shook her head as she looked back in the direction they had been going.

"No, so far it's been quiet, not even any danger beasts." Tatsumi responded plainly, and then took out a map of the area he had been given. "Looks like we're coming up to a canyon, but nothing else really shows up nearby on the map. Theres also a town called Romari a few miles away, but it'll be a while till we get there." Tatsumi added while putting the map back away. Leone nodded, and looked out in front of them.

"I think it would be best to travel together from now on, safety in numbers, plus the whole being on point thing wasn't that useful." Leone said, and the rest of them nodded before setting off again. Leone glanced back to Lapp, his armor clanking as he walked silently. Leone frowned a bit. _First this new brooding guy, and now we're supposedly getting another new member? I'm not sure whether to be thankful, or tell Headquarters to shove it._ Leone looked back forward just in time to see the path clear out and reveal a canyon that their trail ran along side.

The canyon itself was large, with branches in the canyon snaking off into the distance. The bottom of the canyon was dry, the river that had originally formed it had long since dried up. Trees were littered sparsely above the canyon, on it's ledges further into the central fissures, but most of the trees in the area were around the path Night Raid had just come down, and further down the edge of the canyon. The forest itslef wasn't super dense, but it was certainly notable due to the stark contrast between the green trees and tannish-red rocks.

"Pretty nice view." Lubbock commented absentmindedly, before he turned toward the road again, and began to walk down it. Leone was about to join him and the others, but a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Indeed it is." A child-like voice said from behind the group, and Night Raid immediately took defensive positions. Tatsumi activated Incursio, Lubbock brought his bandanna over his face, Lapp unsheathed his halberd and shield, readying them, Sheele brought Extase to bear, Mine whipped out Pumpkin, and Leone activated lionelle, and turned around, her eyes aiming where the voice came from. Standing there was a very young girl wearing a black school girl uniform, had black hair and eyes, and was looking at them all with an uninterested expression. What truly caught Night Raid's attention, and alarm, was the foreboding Katana in her hand. To her right, a man wearing dark blue armor, suspiciously reminiscent of Incursio's design, stepped out of the brush. To the girl's left, a large muscular man wearing nothing but a while pair of torn shorts and a mask stepped out wielding a dangerous looking flamethrower-esk weapon. "Unfortunately..." The little girl continued, "It may be your last." Then from behind the girl another man walked up. This one much more familiar looking to Night Raid. Leone began to sweat as her animal instincts began to scream at her to run away, and never look back.

* * *

"Separate Groups?" Adrien asked as he and the rest of the Jaegers made their way on horse back toward Kyoroch. They had briefly stopped in front of a canyon, and Esdeath had just informed them they would split up, forming two teams, one to go east, and the other to go south. Adrien already had his doubts about this plan. "Are you sure that is wise?"

"Don't worry my love." Esdeath said sweetly as she stopped her horse right beside his. "I will head one group, and you the other. If either one of us manage to intercept Night Raid, even if we are outnumbered, our strength will be more than enough to eliminate them." Esdeath's confidence did not seem to be shared by Adrien, or most of her subordinates. With an exception.

"A great Idea!" Seryu said excitedly. "I mean, either one of you guys could easily take out Night Raid by yourselves, plus with us to back you up, we're guaranteed to win!" Run and Wave, who were next to her, gave each other concerned glances. Esdeath smiled in somewhat victory at Adrien, while he simply shook his head. Esdeath's smile dipped. _He'll still probably do what I order him to do, but why does he always have to argue or disagree with me? Well, I suppose that come with loving someone, but still..._ Esdeath shook her head of these thoughts, knowing there were more pressing matters.

"I will take Seryu and Run, Adrien, Take Kurome Bols and Wave." Esdeath commanded, and everyone moved into position behind either Adrien or Esdeath. Adrien hopped off his horse, looking at the well-worn path he was meant to follow along the south of the canyon. His impromptu team followed suit, each one carrying traveling supplies. He looked back at Esdeath giving her a nob before he turned back to the path, his tattered cape flowing with his movements.

The three with him also nodded their heads in farewell, before they went to follow Adrien. Esdeath smiled as she saw them leave. _Even if they encounter the whole of Night Raid, with Adrien's power, none of those assassin's will stand a chance._ Esdeath thought as she signaled for the rest of her team to follow her into the canyon, going southward.

"I kinda wished I could have gone with Mr. Adrien." Seryu said a bit dejectedly as she glanced at the path one last time before she lost sight of it. Run shook his head as he rode next to her, disapproving of such a deep attachment. _Not that theres anything wrong with attachments... but her's seems to border on reliance. Perhaps this is why Esdeath wished for the two of them to separate._ Run mused as he eyed the back of his leader's head with interest. He hadn't spent much personal time with her, but from what he's gathered, she's more than the sum of her parts. He was originally given the impression she was a battle-hungry general with immense skill and strength. While that was true, he's also begun to question if that was all there was, especially when she announced that she and Adrien were 'lovers'.

Esdeath sighed as she observed the canyon walls. She had heard bandits regularly inhabited these areas, and she was honestly looking forward to facing them. Unfortunately as the hours into their trip passed she saw no sign of them, only old campsites and trails. _Perhaps they aren't as dumb as most would imagine._ Esdeath mused, before someone in rough looking gear jumped in front of her. _I stand corrected._

* * *

Adrien eyed Night Raid, at first, with pity. He knew full well that they had to fight, as when Kurome saw them, she had begun to follow them immediately. He could have told them not to, but Esdeath had specifically split them into two groups to find Night Raid. _A sticky predicament. I had hoped to avoid fighting... But I suppose I have no..._ Adrien's thoughts froze as he saw a very familiar looking set of armor. Lapp's armor.

"You must be that specialist group of imperial arms users." Leone accused growling defensively. Kurome payed her no mind as she kept looking from one member to another, but apparently couldn't find what she was looking for. "Whats wrong?" Leone asked with a coy smile. "Cat got your tongue?" This seemed to garner Kurome's attention as she shifted her focus to the blonde.

"Where is Akame?" Kurome asked with a deadpan expression, causing her two imperial arms users to also realize that one of the most infamous members of Night Raid was not present.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Tatsumi threatened as he glared daggers behind his helmet. He hoped that none of them had seen his face before he transformed, that would make matters more complicated in the future. Kurome glared right back at him with an intensity that a little girl should not have been able to make. Then Adrien stepped forward, making Leone, who was closets to him, take an unconscious step back.

"Surrender, and I promise no harm will come to you. I have had enough of this pointless bloodshed." Adrien suddenly announced, shocking everyone. "I never wanted to fight you, but so many times you have forced me to do so. No one else has to suffer." They all stood there for a second, none of them daring to make a move.

"Does that help you sleep at night? Asking us to surrender? As if thats just going to solve all of the injustice and discrimination we've been through." Mine asked dangerously, as she glared intensely at the lightly armored man. The rest of Night Raid had the exact same sentiment, but chose to remain silent. The gun in her hand seemed to glow dangerously, and the Jaegers took defensive stances. "GO TO HELL!" Then she suddenly fired a powerful shot directly at Adrien's head.

"Adrien!" Wave called in concern, but was soon replaced with shock as Adrien produced a large rock shield with chains on the outside of it, that completely absorbed the attack. Adrien was barely pushed back and the shield was left with a large burn mark where Adrien's head had been. He stuck his hand into the box on his hip, and it disappeared, replaced by his more familiar silver shield.

"I see." Adrien said as he also produced a large great-axe with a double bladed emerald head. He used both hands to hold the weapon as he drew closer to the assassins. Mine once again fired, but instead of Adrien bringing his shield out, Wave stepped in front of him and blocked the shot with a regal-looking light blue trident. Adrien looked at Wave a bit curiously.

"Listen, I know your strong, but we're still a team, and we have to work together." Wave said as he faced Night Raid, the large trident in a ready position. Adrien stepped past him and stopped.

"Thank you, but it would be best if you stayed behind me at the moment." Adrien said as he swiftly flipped his axe upside down, and drove the head into the ground. After getting a better grip on the handle, Adrien drove it in even further. Then the ground in front of him began to shake and crack, leading past Night Raid, and to the edge of the canyon. White energy flowed from the cracks, producing small geysers all within the area, and hitting Night raid dead on. Leone was launched upward as one of the strange geysers erupted right underneath her, and Mine had one erupt right next to her, knocking her off balance. Tatsumi got hit by one geyser from his left, and then another from his right. Lapp was hit with one from right underneath him, sending him flying as well. Lubbock was hit from right in front of him, and sent sprawling backwards toward the cliff. Sheele seemed to be the only one not truly hit by the attack.

Before they could counter-attack though, the ground beneath them began to crack, and before they knew it, Night Raid began to fall. Adrien watched as a large section of the cliff Night Raid was one fall into the canyon, taking the assassins with it. This had also taken the path along the canyon edge, but that was not concerning. After withdrawing Eartheeker from the ground, Adrien placed the massive axe back within his bottomless box.

"Holy shit..." Wave said, breathless at the attack that he had just witnessed. "...all of Night Raid, gone, like that." Wave stared at the spot the assassin group had once inhabited slack-jawed, although with his helmet, none of them could tell.

"They're still alive." Kurome said plainly after having walked to the newly formed edge of the cliff with Bols. Wave looked down to confirm this for himself, and indeed, they were all still kicking.

During the fall, Tatsumi had grabbed Mine and Sheele, and jumped to a nearby ledge to descend safely. Leone had done the same thing with Lubbock, much to his chagrin. Then Lapp thrusted his halberd into the cliff, and was now hanging above the canyon. Even though they were alive, the force of the attack had still hurt, and in Leone's case, had almost broken he legs.

"Don't worry Lapp, we'll get you down!" Tatsumi reassured the man as he put Sheele and Mine onto solid ground. The ledge they were on was quite solid, and he could probably afford to let them stay here. He was wrong. "Just hang on!"

"What do you think I'm doing!?" Lapp responded. Then the dangling armored man noticed figured moving down the cliff swiftly toward Tatsumi and the others. "Above you! Look!" The three did just that and looked up to see a very peculiar sight. Two new figures were descending rapidly toward them one was a man dressed in a long trench coat with a green and blue scarf. He also wore pants with knee-height boots, and most predominantly, a mask that covered the lower half of his face. The second figure was a girl with blonde hair and green eyes, wearing a large brown hat, red scarf, leather boots, and a grey long-sleeve shirt. She was wielding two revolvers in her hands, while the man held a large spear-halberd which reminded Patches of his own halberd. Then he felt a weight land on said halberd that was keeping him from falling. Due to the way his great helm fitted him, he was unable to look up.

"It looks like I'm going to have a nice new puppet when this is over with. If I can get past that armor of yours anyway." Patches heard the same girl's voice from earlier, now clear to him she had landed right on top of his halberd. The a sharp pain engulfed the fingers of his right hand, and he unconsciously let go, leaving his left hand the only one that was holding on. "I sure hope you survive this fall." Patches felt another pain engulf his left hand, but he refused to let go. He attempted to reach back up with his right arm, but the girl struck again on his left hand, and had it not been for his status as an undead, Patches would be short a few fingers. He lost grip of his halberd, and fell into the canyon.

"Shit!" Leone cursed as she saw Lapp fall. Thankfully he used his shield to more or less slide down, but they were in a bad position, and it wasn't getting better. _I just hope Chelsea has a way to help us in some way._ Leone thought as she saw Mine, Tatsumi, and Sheele face down two new figures before the blue armored one from earlier jumped in to join them. Then she heard someone land heavily behind herself and Lubbock. She turned around to see a large gorilla like danger beast with red eyes staring back at them. He had brown fur everywhere except his face, hands, and chest, which revealed a heavily muscled body. On his shoulders was a large man in his own right, the same one from before, holding the dangerous flamethrower like-device.

"Well they look friendly." Lubbock commented dryly before the apeman danger beast roared at them. The large man from on top of it jumped down, and aimed his device at them.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way." The man said. "But its my job to make sure you don't make it out of here alive." The masked man pulled a trigger on his device before Leone or Lubbock could respond, making a torrent of flame burst from his weapon. The flames approached them quickly, and Lubbock struck strings into the side of the cliff, and right before the flames hit them, the cliffside erupted from the strings pulling outward, dousing the flames and placing a pile of rubble between Lubbock and the man. Leone grabbed the back of Lubbock's collar, and jumped down from the ledge, heading toward the bottom of the canyon.

Kurome observed the two retreating, and then looked to the other ledge where Wave, Natala, and Doya were facing three members of Night Raid. Her eyes narrowed, wondering if her two puppets would be able to truly take down a member of Night Raid by themselves. "I suppose I better assist them, maybe bring someone else out." Kurome said to herself as she tapped her katana, Yatsufusa, against the halberd she was still standing on. She looked down at the dark colored weapon, and smiled sinisterly to herself, a wicked Idea coming to her mind.

Doya was the first to act against Night Raid, breaking the small stalemate that had encompassed the ledge. She brought her pistols to bear, and began to shoot rapidly at the pink Night Raid member wielding the large firearm, Mine. Tatsumi, spinning Incursio's spear rapidly, blocked the projectiles, allowing Mine to line up a shot on the new target. Then Wave rushed them, aiming to attack Tatsumi, but Sheele got between them. The purple clad assassin swung Extase, the massive pair of scissors coming close to hitting Wave, but the former sailor had kept a bit of distance between him and the assassin. Natala jumped over Wave and rushed Sheele, his spear like weapon at the ready. Sheele brought her weapon up to strike first, but Natala's spear suddenly grew twice it's own size, forcing the assassin to block the attack. Wave rushed her, while Natala kept her pinned.

"Oh no you don't!" Tatsumi shouted as he rushed the blue-armored man. The rival imperial arms user changed targets, and the two collided with a mighty clang. Tatsumi had his spear out and being blocked by the armored man's own ornate blue spear. _Damn, this guy's armor and weapon are just like Incursio's could his Imperial arms be related to mine somehow?_ Tatsumi thought as he attempted to overpower the man, but found that he wouldn't budge. Then a familiar looking halberd struck him in the face.

"You really should pay more attention to your surroundings." Kurome said as she rolled her arm after having thrown the halberd. She was now on the same ledge as her puppets, Wave, and the three members of Night Raid, and was looking at the assassins with disinterest. "We should get this over with, the sooner you all are gone, the sooner my sister will come." She raised her sword straight up above her head, and a black orb suddenly appeared a few feet above the tip fo the blade. Then black and purple lightning began to strike all around her, causing many of the observers to look on a bit stunned. Then the ground cracked slightly in front of her, before a man in a white suit and tie with a grey shirt emerged from the ground. He was bald, and also wore dark sunglasses, while holding a large riot shield in his hands. "Wall, help them take care of those three members of Night Raid." The shield-bearing man wordlessly rushed into the fray.

Mine dodged another shot from Doya that would have hit were it not for the fact she was used to gunfights. Mine dove behind a rock, and swiftly emerged hoping to catch the reanimated gunslinger off-guard. When she looked though, she was not there, instead there was a man with a riot shield. and a quick glance upwards showed that she had jumped up high, and was now aiming at Mine. Mine jumped backwards, avoiding several shots, before she felt the edge of the cliff. Doya had re-aimed, and was ready to pull the trigger again. Then Tatsumi grabbed her by the collar. She looked to him to see that his armor had some scratches and dents that weren't there before. On his back was his spear withLapp's halberd, and in his other hand, Sheele was hanging over his shoulder, fresh bruises apparent on the purple assassin's otherwise shite skin.. He nodded to her, and before she could say anything he jumped down the canyon, right as Doya took her shot.

Wave picked himself up off the ground. After having been thrown into the dirt by the Incursio user, the Night Raid member had apparently fought Natala off and grabbed Sheele. Wave cursed himself. He had underestimated the Incursio user. Doya and Natala were now looking over the edge of the ledge, watching Night Raid reach the bottom. He went over as well, and saw that the other two assassins had fled further down too. Kurome and her new puppet came up beside him, as Kurome brought out her signature back of cookies.

"So, you sure that his plan will work?" Wave asked curiously, looking over to Kurome. The young girl shrugged as she munched on a cookie.

"Don't know, but he's technically in charge." She responded, causing Wave to nod. "But you better be ready fo the next part too." Wave nodded again, more to himself than anyone else. He glanced over to see that the apeman danger beast and Bols had also stopped, and were observing Night Raid from their own ledge.

When Tatsumi reached the canyon floor he saw that Leone and Lubbock were already here. Leone nodded to him as he placed Mine and Sheele on the ground. Sheele nodded in thanks, but Mine looked at him with a cross expression.

"If you don't stop picking me up without my permission, your seriously going to pay for it when we get to the city." Mine said with irritation, and Tatsumi was tempted to retort, but simply sighed as a response. The three of them want over to Leone and Lubbock to see them looking up at their attackers, who were simply looking down at them. Watching.

"What are they doing?" Tatsumi asked as he approached, getting ready for some kind of attack. "And wheres Lapp?" He looked around, and realized their newest member was nowhere to be seen. Then the pile of rubble that used to be the path along the edge of the canyon shifted a bit.

"Over here." Came Lapp's voice, as a bit of the rubble fell away, revealing Lapp stepping out. "My fall wasn't as graceful as I had hoped." He approached the rest of them, and Tatsumi retrieved the halberd from his back and handed it back to Lapp. "Thank you my friend." Tatsumi nodded, and Lapp looked up to see the Jaegers looking back down at them. Mine aimed up at them, threatening to shoot them, but they simply moved away from the ledge and out of sight, with the exception of the danger beast.

"Whats wrong!? Scared or something!?" Leone mocked as her and the rest of Night Raid got ready for another fight. At first nothing happened, and Mine aimed upwards where the danger beast still was, before something else caught her eye. Standing on top of edge of the canyon, above all of them was a figure in thick, strangely shaped, steel armor. The armor seemed to be formed in the shape of scale plates, and covered the figure's body snugly. A very tattered black drape came down over the back of the legs, and the helmet had a purple-red plume that came out of the back of it. The helmet also had horn-like protrusions from a protrusion on it's face, and the visor seemed to be underneath those horns. Then the figure jumped off the ledge toward them, with a massive wicked looking axe in his hands.

* * *

Lilith sipped on the teacup provided for her gingerly as she listened to the birds chirp outside her window. She could feel the soft breeze of the afternoon waft over her, and a pleasant scent came with it. The room she was in was the same one that had been assigned to her and Adrien, and while she had spent most of her time within this room when they came to the palace, she was used to staying in one place for extended periods of time. Everything that she could need was provided for her by the maids and butlers that worked in the palace. Because of Adrien's status as a Jaeger, she enjoyed such privileges, and was in relative safety with the guards outside her door 24-7.

Even with all this though, she couldn't help but worry. She worried about Adrien, and if he would be okay while fighting Night Raid. It was a silly thought, but she knew he was trying to go easy on them, and if he does, that could ultimately lead to him dying...again. She also worried about herself though, especially after that Syura person had said he wanted her. Now that the Jaegers were gone on a mission, she would have to rely on General Budo and the guards for her safety. Plus the strange energy that was within her, the same thing that allowed Adrien to revive, she was sure now. It was the first flame. It had to be, as there are no bonfires in this world, and she had not had this ability before. Only when she snuffed out the flame and they awoke did she have this energy.

A knock at the door brought the Firekeeper's attention away from the window, and back inside the room. She knew who was there due to the force behind the knock, and the knocking pattern that she had memorized.

"Come in." At her words, she heard the door open and close, and could feel General Budo's eyes upon her. "Hello General, how may I assist thee?" She asked as she stepped a bit more into the room.

"Hello Ms Lilith, I just wanted to inform you that i'm adding some extra guards to you, with Syura's threat that Esdeath informed me of a few days ago, I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to making sure nothing happens." Budo said as he looked at her, and while to most she seemed rather calm, maybe even tranquil, he could tell that something was bothering her. He would not say anything though. She nodded her head in response, a small smile on her face.

"My thanks, General, thou's preparedness and care doth put a smile on my face." She responded, but Budo hummed as he took a look around the room.

"It wasn't necessarily my order, it was actually the emperor who grew truly concerned when he found out." Lilith's mouth opened a bit in surprise upon hearing that. "The emperor ordered that anything I heard about you or Adrien be relayed to him as soon as possible. Thus when I had the chance, I informed him of what Esdeath told me. He seemed...Distraught." Budo stopped there, remembering how the emperor as of late had seemed more careful, and nervous. If not even a bit paranoid. He wasn't listening to Honest as much, and was starting to make his own decisions. Budo was pleased that the emperor was doing this, and was also pleased with the kind of decisions he had been making. But the General was also cautious of what danger the young emperor might face now.

"I see. My thanks again, General Budo." Lilith said, and the general swiftly nodded, before making his leave. In the hallway, nearly six guards were stationed outside of her room, and Budo could only hope that the accursed bastard would be less likely to make a move. They were some of the finest guards the palace had to offer, but even against one imperial arms user, they could only last so long.

* * *

"This is just not our day." Lubbock commented dryly upon seeing Adrien leap off the canyon edge, and down toward them. "RUN!" The whole of Night Raid scattered like bugs, none of them wishing to be the target of Adrien's fall. Lubbock quickly used his strings to set up traps around where Adrien would be landing as he ran from the drop zone. Mine had attempted to shoot him out of the sky, but when she fired, the shot merely singed his armor.

Adrien lifted his weapon above his head, and wind gathered around the head of the Dragon-slayer greataxe, and he could feel the air around him both swirl and move as he plummeted toward his target. Lighting sparked on his greataxe, and several large cracks of lightning struck against the side of the canyon as he fell. He was fast approaching the ground, and if he was to survive he would have to perform this perfectly. Only a few feet above the gorund, he swung the axe down hard, releasing the built up energy in an outburst of wind and lightning. The axe sunk into the brittle ground with the force, and took the brunt of the damage that Adrien would have received. The wind from the attack pushed Night Raid back, and one singe lightning bold met it's mark on Lubbock's right leg.

"Damn it!" He cried in pain as the lightning bolt singed his pants, and left a burn on his flesh. The dust from the blast quickly settled, revealing Adrien pulling his strange looking axe out of the ground. It was large and jagged looking, the head roughly being in the shape of a shallow U, but even after a fall like that, it showed no ware. He began to slowly walk toward them. "Alright, lets see how you like this big guy!" At that, Lubbock pulled on his strings, causing all of the quickly laid traps to activate, and began to string Adrien up. There were excessive wraps around his arms as they were forcefully flayed apart, and several around his chest and legs, keeping him from walking any further.

"Heh, I guess he didn't learn his lesson." Tatsumi said a bit cockily, and as he finished his sentence, Adrien began to shift. He strained against the strings, which dug into his armor to little effect. He pulled his arms against the strain, and began to win, the ground cracking where his feet were, and where the strings were dug into. Lubbock pulled on his device harder, but was having difficulty keeping it reeled.

"You and your big fat mouth!" Mine yelled in annoyance as she took aim at Adrien again. "Sheele, after I shoot, take his fucking arms off." The purple haired assassin looked between her friend and Adrien before nodding with a determined expression. She aimed, choosing her target carefully, and then fired. Her shot hit it's mark as it struck Adrien's right hand, forcing the large axe out of it. Adrien seemed to freeze upon this happening. Sheele rushed forward with her imperial arms ready, while Tatsumi and Lapp rushed as well, aiming to give her backup.

"We should do something!" Wave exclaimed, watching Night Raid close in on Adrien, but a katana was held to his chest as a sign to stay. He looked over to Kurome to see her watching the scene down below with narrowed eyes.

"He told us to wait for his signal." Kurome responded simply, and Wave seemed to grunt in frustration. He could see that the one blonde member of Night Raid looking back at them.

"What are they doing?" Leone asked herself, watching the other imperial arms suers simply stand there and watch. She was growing more and more suspicious of the situation, but before she could call out a warning, Adrien pulled hard all of a sudden, breaking the strings free from the ground, and causing Lubbock to wince as he was pulled down by the opposing force. Then Adrien grabbed the offending strings harshly, and pulled again. Lubbock was catching air as Adrien forced him towards the coming Frey. Lubbock severed the connection, but was sent scraping along the canyon floor. Leone rushed up to him. "You okay Lubbock?" He didn't respond, he only groaned in pain.

"Bastard!" Tatsumi roared as he surged past Sheele, and made it to Adrien first. The undead rose his hands into a cross position in front of him and blocked a punch that sent him skidding backwards. Then Lapp came in and swung his halberd downward at Adrien. _Patches. What are you doing?_ Adrien thought as he side-stepped the attack towards where his axe had landed, only to find Sheele had already picked it up. Tatsumi got between them, and thrusted with his spear in an attempt to keep Adrien at a distance. Adrien grabbed the spear by the back of it's tip, keeping it in his grasp as he looked upward and gave a nod towards Kurome. _They disarmed me, I was hoping to perhaps knock a few of them unconscious before asking the jaegers to help, but I suppose that is no longer an option._

Tatsumi tried to pull his spear out of Adrien's hand, but his grip was too strong. Before Adrien could attempt to get around Tatsumi to Sheele, a halberd swiftly descended upon that same hand. This caused Adrien to let go as grey blood was launched from the attack. Adrien shifted his attention to Lapp.

"Go, Ill take care of him. You take care of those other three." Lapp said, and Tatsumi looked up to see the rest of Adrien's 'team' head for him. He backed off to the rest of Night Raid. Lapp faced Adrien as the unkindled glanced where Sheele was with his axe. She was actually somewhat struggling to carry both it and Extase, but was not collapsing. She was also practically surrounded by the rest of Night Raid. "Your fight is with me buddy." Lapp said as he stood between Adrien and Night Raid.

"I couldn't agree more." Adrien said, and the pointed a hand to Night Raid, at which the jaegers ran past both him and Patches, rushing the group of assassins. Adrien then reached into his box. A swift change revealed him now clad in a bright golden version of very similar looking armor he had on before, only it was far more polished, and the lion-head healmet had no plume. In his hands was a long golden spear with extra handles at the end for easier handling.

"This is gonna be fun." Patches said as he rushed his friend.

* * *

The young emperor Makato read the repot he had requested from the general with frustration evident on his face. There was no one in his room to see this, but nonetheless, seeing the list of official executions the empire authorized in the last month alone made him both frustrated and sick. Perhaps what disturbed him the most was not only had nearly two hundred executions been permitted in the last month, but a few of them were children younger than 9. only a little younger than himself. _Adrien has proven himself more right than wrong with that simple question. How could I be so blind?_ The emperor put a hand against his left eye as tears threatened to pour from them.

This was only one of the reports he had requested from general Budo and ordered him to not tell the Prime Minister about. One other was about the number of reported famines inside the empire, and how the reports could sometimes go back as far as three years with nothing being done. Another he requested was the tax rate. The emperor wasn't very knowledgeable about economics, but even he recognized that a 20% income and sales tax was a tad excessive. There were other things he had read about in reports and newspaper articles, most of which were not good. The emperor crushed the paper in his hand, and looked up and out the window with a determined expression.

"Its not too late though, I can change this." He said to himself. "And i'm going to start with the palace itself."

* * *

Adrien blocked Patches' swing with his spear, and Patches' great-helm leaned in. Adrien could just barely make out the fighting behind him, but could not help due to his friend keeping him at bay. Adrien wasn't quite sure why he was doing this, but did not hate Patches'. If anything, Adrien figured he probably should have suspected this. _Hes done similar things before._ Adrien thought as he pushed back against the other undead, his superior strength allowing him to overcome the attack.

"Hello again ol' chum." Patches whispered as he was pushed back. "I do have a reason, in case you were wondering." Adrien snorted a bit as he shoved Patches back, and then thrusted forwards, the spear lighting up a bit with electricity. Patches blocked it with his shield. In response he lifted the halberd above his head, but Adrien simply struck him while the weapon was there, thrown Patches off. Grey blood came from the strike, and electricity coursed through Patches' body.

"I suppose you do, but now isn't the time." Adrien said quietly, and then rushed his opponent. He went for a forward thrust, but Patches rolled to Adrien's left. Adrien blocked the downward strike, and sent a punch into Patches' helmet. A metal clang was heard as Patches recoiled slightly. Adrien kept on the offensive and sent two slashes at the other undead, both sending grey blood flying, and electricity to course through Patches. Then Adrien stopped, in a slightly more reserved stance than before.

"You aren't rusty, thats for sure." Patches said as he brought his shield up. "But I'm with Night Raid at the moment, so I can't let you kill anymore of them." Patches glanced over to the rest of his team to see each one of them was preoccupied.

Leone dodged another swing from the apeman danger beast, and was soon back to back with Mine as she used her pumpkin as a machine gun, and sprayed it towards Doya. The undead puppet was hit twice while attempting to dodge, but gave no reaction. Tatsumi was facing off against Wave, the two armored warriors trading blows with their spears and fists, with Wave's armor looking in considerably better condition. Lubbock was busy avoiding fire blasts from Bols' imperial arms, while attempting to ensnare him. Sheele was having a reach-off against Natala, but his spear like-device seemed to be capable of reaching as far as the man wanted. Kurome was watching carefully, wondering if she should summon another puppet. She could have seven at a time, but the more she had out, the weaker she became. Wall had rushed Sheele as she fought back against Natala, and while she was distracted, wall slammed his shield into her, knocking her away, and causing her to drop Adrien's axe.

"Hmm, well it looks like your team is rather well trained." Patches' complimented, as he looked back to Adrien, to see the man also looking at their companion's duel. "But unfortunately for you we have one more." Adrien looked at Patches with a bit of surprise before the sound of an explosion met his ears. Then another, then another. Adrien looked up to see that explosions were being set off at the top of the canyon, the edge began to crack, signaling the coming rock slide. When Adrien looked back, Patches had fled.

"Get out of the bottom of the canyon, now!" Adrien ordered, and the jaegers seemed to realize what was going on rather quickly. Kurome was grabbed by Natala, and began to jump up the canyon ledges on the other side, swiftly followed by Doya and Wall. Wave grabbed Bols and began to fly, but something caught his leg, preventing him from leaving more than a foot off the ground. Apeman too attempted to leap upwards, but his legs were trapped. Adrien realized that Lubbock had ensnared Apeman and Wave. Deciding that Wave a bit more important than the undead puppet, he rushed forward, and used his spear in an attempt to slice the strings, but to no avail. Adrien looked behind him to see the practical wave of dirt and rock swiftly approaching.

"Take Bols!" Wave insisted. "You can make it out of here. I'm stuck." Adrien shook his head, put his spear on his back, and the reached down to grab the strings with his bare hands. His palms began to heat up ad fire licked at his fingers. He pressed down hard, and soon the strings began to snap. First one, then another, and finally they had all snapped due to the stress and heat. Wave went to grab Adrien by the back of his helmet, but the rockslide had finally reached them. Apeman was swallowed by the dirt and rock, his body being quickly crushed under the immense weight. Adrien too was knocked onto his face by the wave hitting his back, and the dirt quickly swallowed him up. "NO!" Wave had no choice but too look on in horror as Adrien's body disappeared as he flew upwards. Wave looked to where Night Raid was, and saw they were fleeing, except that the one in the pink dress was aiming her weapon right at them. Wave's eyes widened realizing it wasn't him she was aiming at, but his passenger.

Mine took the shot. The energy bolt approached the shirtless man quickly, and the blue-armored, now flying, man sped up enough to throw her shot off. But not by much. The shot struck the man's leg, and through her scope could see him squirm in pain as his leg bled profusely.

"Good shot, now lets get out of here while we can." Lubbock said to her and she nodded. Night Raid began to move again, having reached the top of the canyon again, they began to retreat into the treeline when another figure joined them.

"I take it it went well?" Chelsea asked as she regrouped with them, startling Tatsumi, Mine, and Lapp for a moment. Leone smirked as she nodded back at the auburn haired girl. As they ran through the forest, none of them slowed down to look back, attempting to create as much distance between them and the Jaegers as possible.

"Very well, better than most other encounters so far." Leone said as she jumped over a fallen log in her path. "That was some good thinking, transforming that quick, and then planting explosives on the ridge. It made that encounter a lot better than it would have probably turned out. Didn't even know you were packing such heavy ordinance." Chelsea smirked a bit as she looked to Leone.

"Especially considering what I snagged." Tatsumi said, and their heads turned to see that on his back was both his spear, and Adrien's strange axe. "When I went invisible to avoid the rockslide I decided to grab it while they were distracted. This should come in handy in the future." The members of Night raid seemed both stunned and impressed at his words. Lubbock, Sheele, Leone, and Lapp all congratulated him on his work, while Mine seemed a bit miffed at his performance. She nevertheless gave him an unenthusiastic 'good work'.

"Its a wonder what a bit of planning will do, I guess that Adrien guy wasn't so tough after all, was he?" Chelsea said smugly, and Leone's smile seemed to fade at that, and shook her head. This got Chelsea to cock her head in confusion. _We just buried him with who know how many tons for rock, how could he still be alive?_ Leone looked back at Chelsea with a dead serious expression.

"He can come back to life."

* * *

Kurome scanned the area of the avalanche with an appraising eye as Bols sat next to her on the canyon ridge. Natala Doya and Wave were all looking for any signs of their temporary leader. Wave seemed to be the most frantic to find him, using his bare hands to dig through the dirt, even without having Grand Chariot activated. Bols sighed, bringing the girl's attention to him. He was now sporting a large bandage over his leg, and a pair of crutches were next to him in case he needed to get up.

"Can't believe our trap for them turned out to be our own trap." Bols said a bit dejectedly. "I just hope we can at least find Adrien's body." Kurome's head tilted to the side a bit at that sentence, before she bit into another cookie.

"You don't think he's alive?" Kurome asked curiously, to which Bols shook his head. He looked over to his own imperial arms, which was resting on a boulder next to him, and then back at the wreckage.

"Hes tough, we all saw that when he fought Esdeath, and if he had a chance I think he might even be able to survive my trump card." He paused a moment, trying to find the best way to explain what was on his mind. "But being crushed by what looks like at least a hundred tons of dirt? I doubt even Esdeath would be able to survive that." Kurome paused her eating to think about that, and could defiantly see the reason behind Bols' words.

"Maybe, but theres something different about Adrien. I'm not sure just what it is yet, but its somet-" Kurome was interrupted by the sound of something breaking. Looking down she saw that a certain spot of the rock slide was cracking, the three down there had noticed it as well, and had shifted their attention to the site. Then it broke, revealing a hand encased with a golden glove. Wave rushed over to it. Bols stared in disbelief as Wave pulled Adrien out of the wreck. The golden armor-clad warrior took the golden flask from his belt, and quickly downed two gulps from it after lifting is helmet up slightly. "Like I said, theres something different about him." At that Kurome got up, and looked off in the distance. She smiled a bit to herself. "Your closer than before sister." She said quietly to herself. "I look forward to seeing you again."

* * *

"Seriously?" Chelsea asked as her and Night Raid stopped at a small abandoned cabin in order to catch their breath. She had just been informed of the fact that even after supposedly killing Adrien, he had come to their hideout later that same night to deliver Sheele. Sheele nodded in confirmation of this. "Then how are we supposed to beat him?" Leone smiled a bit somberly at that.

"Considering his strength, its going to be nigh impossible for us to capture him, but we can at least slow him down. And when he did die, he didn't just come right back up where he was before, he was sent somewhere else." Leone explained. Mine nodded at that.

"We still don't know where he came from, or where he went." Mine said, which made Tatsumi freeze a bit, a thought coming to his mind.

"Well he showed up in his room in the inn when he came to get me." Sheele added, although most of Night Raid already knew this fact. Lubbock sighed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the cabin.

"We suspect it has something do with whatever kind of imperial arms he has." Lubbock said, and Leone nodded.

"Um.." Tatsumi began, and the rest of the assassins turned to him. "What if it has something to do with that woman he had with him? She's blind, can't fight, and hasn't really done anything to us, plus Adrien specifically wanted us to stop targeting her." At that, the rest of Night Raid thought for a moment, before faces of realization came over each one of them, except for Sheele.

"You mean the Firekeeper?"

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **I'm Alive! Work has been hell, besides that I don't have an excuse for my absence. I'm sorry. But at least I have a new chapter out right? Hehe. This one's a bit longer, and I hope you guys enjoyed the fight scene. I tried to make it less one-sided, (even if thats the point of Adrien being there) I'm not sure if you guys enjoy that kind of fighting, but I tried my best to make it enjoyable.**

 **I'll try to have the next chapter out sooner, but life has been really busy as of late. I'll do my best, Ive also been considering taking a break from my RWBY fic so I can focus a bit more on this one. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16-Soul of the Calm

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls or Akame ga kiru**

 **Soul of the Calm**

Another bandit fell to the ground as Esdeath withdrew her now very bloody rapier from the bandit's corpse. The large sword dripped crimson as it's wielder looked upon the few remaining bandits that had ambushed her and her subordinates. Run had flown above early in the fight, and had been taking out bandits in droves with the use of his imperial arms, Mastema. Seryu had equipped one of the ten powerful weapons crafted for her by Dr. Stylish to use in battle. The one she was currently using was number 3: Sung Dynasty Blade, which was in essence, a giant blade that was attached to a gauntlet that Seryu could wear on her arm. In the meantime, her imperial arms, Koro, devoured, or ripped apart any bandits that it could find.

Such is why a 'battle' was more like a slaughter. Even with their numbers in the dozens, the bandits could do nothing against the three imperial arms users.

Seryu wiped her brow of blood that had sprayed onto her during the fight. None of it was her blood, but it was more on her than anything else it seemed. She looked at the rather impressive amount of corpses she'd created, and then looked over at Koro as he devoured another bandit. There were only stragglers left, and Run was taking them out as they fled. Seryu looked over to see Esdeath with a pleased smile on her face as the general too looked over the small pile of bodies around her. Even while the ground was soaked red, the general didn't seem to have a drop of the crimson substance on her. Seryu then saw movement from one of her own corpses, and realized that one of them had survived.

"Y-You bastards." The bandit struggled to speak, his voice weakening by the second. The large gash on his stomach, and the blood still seeping from it, making speaking very difficult for the man. "You'll pay. We may have been bandi-" The man coughed, blood coming from his mouth. "But at least we weren't monsters." The hateful look he gave Seryu didn't affect her so much as his words. They were bandits, they robbed, pillaged and stole for a living, they deserved to be killed. But were they any different for killing the ones that tried to run? These thoughts momentarily plagued Seryu as she watched the man finally bleed out and die.

"Seryu? Is something wrong?" Esdeath asked as she approached the former guard. Seryu tensed up a bit, and shook her head. "You look like something is on your mind. What is it?" Esdeath asked as Run cut down the final bandit, the robber screaming painfully as he died.

"Its just..." Seryu began, but stopped herself, wondering if this was a topic she should bring up with the general. Esdeath was now right in front of her with a neutral expression, waiting for her subordinate to answer. "I'm worried about Adrien." She lied. Esdeath smiled as she shook her head.

"Theres nothing to worry about, Adrien is more than capable of handling himself. Even if they do encounter Night Raid, I'm sure they'll come out on top." Esdeath the put a comforting hand on the shorter girl's head and gave her a gentle smile.

* * *

"They avoided our trap." Adrien said simply as he and the other jaegers he was with re-grouped back on the trail they had been following. Adrien himself had not yet changed from the Dragon slayer set, Ornstein's golden armor a stark contrast to the green of the leaves and grass around them. "They took my axe." Adrien said with distain, as he stepped on a twig, the snap sound seeming to be much louder than it should have been. Adrien was used to losing, in fact he wasn't really all that bothered by the fact Night Raid had gotten away. What was truly maddening was that he allowed them to take one of his most prized weapons. Thus he was angry. At himself more than anything.

"Hey, don't worry." Wave reassured him as he came up behind the armored man. He was a bit nervous as even he could tell the deadly man was not in the best of moods, but he had to try right? "I mean, they looked pretty beat up when they left. It wasn't like they took it without a fight." Wave chuckled. Then the former sailor looked back at his fellow jaegers for any kind of support.

Bols was leaning heavily on his uninjured leg, while Kurome was snacking on her bag of cookies. Wave scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Considering they were outnumbered in terms of imperial arms, Wave was actually rather thankful things hadn't turned out worse. Although considering they had originally caught Night Raid by surprise, he was also disappointed they hadn't caused more damage. All in all Wave had hoped it had gone better, but was able to live with the outcome.

"It truly could have gone worse." Bols piped up, seeing the younger man was trying to somewhat soothe their leader. "We all still have our lives, our imperial arms, and while I may have been shot, we managed to come out of that unscathed." Wave silently thanked him. Adrien turned around to face them, and he nodded. Adrien reached into his box, and switched his armor and spear with his normal apparel.

"Lets just get to Kyoroch. Then we will discuss with Esdeath our future strategy. Be on guard, they could have set up a trap of their own while we were still recovering." The three imperial arms users nodded, before they began following Adrien once again. Wave sighed to himself as he trudged along the path. Adrien then looked behind him, specifically at Bols. "Will you be okay Bols?" At his question, Bols nodded.

"Yea, Ill be okay, but maybe we could find somewhere to rest later? I'm not sure how long I'll be able to follow-" He was interrupted as Adrien threw him a golden flask. He caught it, and then looked at it curiously.

"Take a swig, then hand it back."

* * *

"This is the place." Leone said as she and the rest of Night Raid stood in front of a quiet building within Kyoroch the evening sun casting a golden light upon the city. Thankfully for the assassin group, the street where they were was empty. Leone knocked in a specific pattern, one that was used frequently by revolutionary forces. A moment passed before the door opened to reveal a girl in a dancer-like outfit. She had two ornate daggers attached to her waist and a dark blue scarf around her neck, concealing the bottom half of her face. The girl appraised them for a second. Her hair was an almost black dark blue, and her eyes were dark sapphire.

"Why does a wolf howl?" The woman asked stoically and Leone smirked.

"To tell the pack that he's found their prey." Leone said, and the woman seemed to relax a little.

"You must be my teammates." The woman said as she moved aside to let the rest of them in. Sheele, and Mine were wearing large dark cloaks to hide their appearance, but the rest were dressed in their normal attire. The woman looked at Mine's dress with a raised eyebrow, but decided not to question it. She also noticed how most of them seemed to be limping slightly. "Hope you didn't run into any trouble getting here." Tatsumi eyed her a bit.

"Finding the building? No. Getting to Kyoroch, a little bit." Tatsumi replied, making the girl raise an eyebrow as she closed the door. "Heard of that group of imperial arms users the empire has now? We encountered them. At least half of them that is." The girl grew quiet as she clenched her fists.

"We were lucky with the scrapes and bruises we got, it could have been a lot worse." Mine pointed out, and Tatsumi nodded.

"Oh I know." The girl said with a bit of malice, causing the rest of Night Raid to look at her. "I've fought them before. Including that Adrien guy." this caused Night Raid's eyes to grow wide. "I was lucky to get out alive... if it wasn't for my friends..." Tears began to form in her eyes as unpleasant memories re-surfaced. Then a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Its okay." Leone said, understanding in her voice, and the girl looked up at her in slight surprise. "We know how you feel." The rest of Night Raid seemed to nod at this sentiment. Leone smiled somberly, knowing that any of them would give anything to save each other. "Say, Whats your name anyways? You never introduced yourself." The girl blinked, before she rubbed her eyes and shook her head.

"Right, sorry. I got a bit caught up there." She said with a small chuckle. "My names Sasha. Its a pleasure to meet you all." After her introduction, Night Raid introduced themselves too, and explained that there were two others, plus Najenda, that weren't there yet. Sasha nodded in understanding. Then she noticed a large axe being placed on the central table within the room, and she raised an eyebrow. "A new imperial arms?" She asked as she approached it.

"No, well, maybe. We managed to snag it from Adrien." Tatsumi explained, causing Sasha's eyes to go wide. She looked at the weapon again with both great interest, and trepidation. "It has some kind of lighting based ability. We haven't tested it or anything, but we have it at least."

"So this is what he used on you guys?" She asked, and Tatsumi nodded, but then looked away.

"He's used a lot of other weapons on us as well. Katanas, straight swords, crossbows, halberds, spears. He doesn't seem to have an end to the weapons he has." Tatsumi said as he looked over the axe, studying it's features. "This is probably the heaviest thing he's used against us yet." Mine and Lubbock approached the weapon as well, wishing to get a closer look. Then they heard giggling, specifically coming from Sasha. Soon that giggle turned in almost hysterical laughter, causing Night Raid to look at her with a great amount of suspicion.

"What's gotten into you?" Lubbock asked as he took a step back from the cackling woman. Who stopped, and then looked at Tatsumi with a sharp gaze.

"This is the biggest thing he's thrown at you?" Sasha asked, to which Tatsumi gave a hesitant nod. "You haven't seen anything yet." The rest of the group of assassins couldn't help but shudder.

* * *

Lilith sat the tea cup down on it's saucer perfectly, having practiced the gesture repeatedly, and having been given plenty of time to do so. After all, what else was she supposed to do with her time? Normally she wouldn't be drinking tea specifically, normally preferring something new, but given how the tea was so good, and the company she currently had, she felt it would be improper to have anything else.

"Thank you." Lilith said as she heard the maid re-fill her tea cup. Then she heard the sound of a different tea cup being picked up and sipped from across from her. He had not been here long, but she had been thankful for at least a little bit of a change of pace.

"I'm glad your enjoying the tea." The emperor said as he put his tea cup back down. "I've also heard you've been partaking of many different snacks and beverages here. I do hope they are to your liking?" The emperor asked honestly, and while she couldn't see it, he smiled anyway, more so from a force of habit than anything.

"Very much so, your majesty. I am honored to have the privilege to partake in such luxuries, thy hospitality is much appreciated." Lilith responded properly. The emperor hummed as he took another sip of his tea, before placing back on the saucer and table.

"I hope you do not mind, Lilith." The emperor said tentatively, having only recently been told of her new name, by her herself. He had only heard her called the Firekeeper by Adrien, and even then, had not really spoken to her before. Nevertheless, he needed to speak with her. "I have some questions I need to ask you regarding Adrien."

"Of course, your majesty, I shall answer thy questions to the best of mine knowledge." Lilith answered. The emperor nodded, even though it was unnecessary.

"So how did Adrien become so strong? Was it training? Or is it perhaps his imperial arms?" The emperor questioned, leaning in a bit to hear the answer. Lilith remained quiet for a moment before answering.

"The Ashen One gaineth strength from those he defeats. This is also where he hath gotten so many of his weapons." Lilith said, her half-truth coming out naturally. Sure it was true, but it was a lie by omission more than anything.

"I see." The emperor said as he stroked his chin in thought. "So does he have a proper imperial arms? Or are all of his weapons simply powerful artifacts of some kind?" His second question caused Lilith to pause for an even longer period of time. Seeming to think of the the best way to respond.

"The Ashen One does not posses a proper 'imperial arms' but he doth have several weapons that hold the power of an individual's soul. Those such weapons are among the Ashen one's more powerful weapons." At this she heard a gasp from the young emperor.

"Weapons... made from people's souls? Imperial arms are made form S-Class danger beasts, but I would never imagine a person being used to make a weapon, much less their very soul." Lilith wanted to backpedal, and see if she could come up with an excuse, but she realized it was too late, and what was done, was done. "And what happens to their souls when he makes a weapon?" The emperor's tone was now one of both concern, and warning.

"The energy of the soul is used in the weapon crafting process, after which, what is left is sent to the afterlife." Lilith boldly lied. At least, she believed she did. In all honesty, she wasn't sure how the transposing kiln worked, but she hoped this would appease the emperor a bit, as his distress was not a good thing for either her or Adrien. The emperor hummed.

"Well, at least they do find some peace... Very well I suppose." The emperor said, his worry fading slowly. _Still, using people's souls as a means of gaining power and weapons? Isn't that a bit... harsh?_ The emperor thought as he sipped his tea. "Final question." Lilith visibly perked up, most likely not feeling conformable with these kind of questions. "What is Adrien's ultimate goal in all of this, and how does he benefit from trying to help the empire?" Lilith did not take long to respond.

"The goal of The Ashen One is to bring peace to this land, thous't empire, and to prevent th' Abyss from emerging and consuming all withn' it's path." The emperor furrowed his brow. "Then maybe both me and the Ashen one will find peace as well." The emperor wondered what that meant, but did not question her again. Soon he excused himself and left the room. He had a better understanding of Adrien, but now he had several more questions that needed answering. Perhaps when Adrien returned he would get them.

* * *

"I am very disappointed." Esdeath said as she glared at the four other members of her jaeger team. More specifically, Adrien. The taller man stared back at her, unflinching. The entirety of the jaeger team was now on the outskirts of a local village, having regrouped before heading to Kyoroch. This involved recounting everything that had happened on the way, including Adrien's group's encounter with Night Raid."To think you did not even manage to kill even one of them." Bols and Wave looked downward at the scolding, but Kurome seemed non-pulsed by Esdeath's words.

"We did our best." Adrien began, matching Esdeath's glare with a neutral look. "We may not have killed any of them, but we did injure them. As I stated before. Plus, only Bols and a few of Kurome's puppets had any kind of significant damage done to them. Besides the fact they now have my axe, we were the ones that came out on top." Esdeath's glare hardened.

"Will they be able to use this axe of yours?" She asked dangerously, to which Adrien only gave a nod. A long pause followed, and the surrounding Jaegers couldn't help they were witnessing something akin to Paren't fighting. Then Esdeath released a sigh as she calmed down. "Then I expect you to deal with whoever now wields that Axe." Adrien nodded again in understanding. Esdeath glare hardened even more, before she turned away from them. "Rest up, tomorrow we leave for Kyoroch." Esdeath left for the village proper, a sour mood being left behind.

"I-I'm glad you all are safe." Seryu offered, approaching a bit closer, Wave nodded and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, so are we, it could have been worse. Trust us." Wave said with a small smile. Run nodded as well, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"While it would have been better if you had done more damage, at least we didn't lose anyone, and our damage was minimal." At his words, Adrien began to walk away, the opposite direction that Esdeath had walked. The Jaegers took note of this with curiosity.

"Mr Adrien, Where are you going?" Seryu asked, concern in her tone.

"A walk. I'll be back." Adrien responded simply, as he walked out of earshot of the group, each step seemingly echoing somberly. Bols sighed heavily, as he looked down to his leg, where the wound he had suffered would have been, if not for the elixir Adrien had given him. Seryu watched him leave with a saddened expression, and in an attempt to comfort her, Bols put a hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be fine." Bols reassured her, a gentle tone in his voice. "He probably just wants to think for a bit." Seryu simply nodded. _I wonder if he feels guilty? Or maybe he's disappointed in himself? I doubt it though._ Bols thought as he turned to the others. He realized he was probably the oldest one there, as such, he made a decision that would hopefully brighten everyone's spirits. "Well, even if Esdeath and Adrien won't join us, who wants to get a snack?" Kurome was the first to respond by raising her hand.

"Well that was easy." Wave said a bit bemusedly. He then smiled, seeing how a trip into town might brighten the mood. "That sounds good Bols. This place must have a bakery or cafe, or something right?" Bols nodded as he began to head towards the town.

"Or maybe just a restaurant we can sit down at? I know that I'm feeling a bit hungry." Run said as he rubbed his stomach a bit.

"Yea, That sounds nice. I know me and Koro are pretty hungry too!" Seryu said happily as she joined the others in heading into town. They all walked together heading into town, searching for a place to eat, and perhaps relax before they set out for Kyoroch, which was sure to be a challenge for every member of the team.

* * *

Adrien walked around the forested outskirts of the town they were in, Romari, and merely kept himself busy with his thoughts. Evening swiftly approached as the undead walked, paying mind to the wild animals, often stopping to look at a deer, or listen to the birds. Adrien eventually founds his way atop of a hill that somewhat overlooked Romari, although most of it was blocked by trees. The wind blew past him and made his cape bristle. All in all, it was extremely peaceful.

In direct contrast, Adrien's mind was mostly on subjects that troubled him. Mostly about the Jaeger's mission to protect Bolic. He did not know anything about this man, except for his position as a high ranking member within the path of peace. Considering they were being assigned to protect him themselves, it made Adrien wonder just how close the man was to Honest. Which made the undead worried about the man's true nature, or what he could be hiding. Then he heard footsteps approaching him, he glanced in their direction to see a familiar face. One that he had not expected to see.

"Hey there guy." Captain Armin began, speaking out the undead. "Listen, I'm not sure why your out here, but a lot of the villagers have been getting nervous, seeing you walk around. If you don't mind, could you tell me why your out here?" Adrien reasoned that the captain couldn't recognize him with the undead legion armor on, but nodded at his question. Adrien moved his gaze back over to the village as he answered.

"Merely collecting my thoughts." Armin's eyes widened in recognition and surprise at hearing Adrien's voice. "How have you been captain? It has been a while, has it not?" Armin couldn't help but chuckle at the knight's question.

"If it wasn't for the fact I recognized your voice, I would've never known it was you Adrien." Armin said amusedly as he stepped closer to the man. "What happened to your armor? Did it get ruined or something?" Adrien shook his head.

"No, this is actually the armor I use regularly, the knight armor you saw me use is now in here." Adrien said, lightly tapping his bottomless box. "What of yourself? You are dressed as a common guard, were you demoted?" Armin shrunk a bit, and indeed, instead of his previously rather well dressed uniform, he was instead dressed as a normal city guard. The dull grey's of his current uniform in stark contrast with the ornate whites and golds of his officer uniform.

"Yes, unfortunately I was demoted for some of my actions after I sent you to the capital." Armin explained, his face becoming sour. "Apparently, holding off that last assault was enough to get my men and me sent to a different station. Unfortunately the orders we were given..." Armin trailed off, his gaze lingering on the city. _Whatever he was ordered to do must not have sat well with him._ Adrien thought as he noticed Armin's change of tone. "We couldn't go through with it. Most of my men were kicked out of the army, while me and a few others were demoted and separated. Now I'm the head of the guard here in Romari, my home town." Adrien nodded in understanding, but did not question the former captain further, aware that whatever orders he was given must be a sore spot with the man.

"At least you are close to home." Adrien offered, and Armin sighed as he nodded too. The two of them stood there and watched the sun creep slowly downward, past the horizon, making way for dusk to overtake the landscape. The two stood in comfortable silence for a few moments, simply enjoying the view.

"Adrien, why are you here in Romari? I would think you would still be in the capital." Adrien let out an unnecessary breath.

"I am hunting Night Raid with general Esdeath." Adrien's simple, blunt, response was enough to throw Armin for a loop. For a second the former captain had thought he had heard him wrong, or that he was going crazy, but a quick glance at Adrien's ever stoic figure was enough to tell him otherwise.

"Your serious." Armin said stunned, and then shook his head. "Why? Why are you working with her?" Armin's tone actually sounded sad more than anything, as if he felt sorry for the man. Adrien couldn't blame him. _I can only imagine what the good cap- former captain must have heard about her._ Adrien thought.

"I had no choice. By this, I may be able to solve the corruption in the capital with as few deaths as possible." Armin's brow furrowed in confusion, failing to see his reasoning, but did not bother questioning him further. Once again they descended into silence. Adrien began to leave, seeing as how his team might begin to wonder where he had gone.

"I must leave now Armin." Adrien said, glancing back. "I understand that you are confused, but rest assured, I only want what is best for the people of this empire." Armin stayed silent, and as Adrien was about to leave again, the former captain responded.

"I have a feeling your telling the truth, but be careful, your awfully close to a lot of people that have only themselves in mind. Esdeath included. Your going to be facing a lot of conflict in the future Adrien. I hope you know that." Adrien froze, before turning to face Armin, his expression hidden by his armor. Even so, Armin could feel the man's gaze on him.

"I know, I just hope for all of our sakes, I am capable of dealing with those conflicts." Adrien responded, before he set off toward the village in silence, leaving Armin to himself. The former captain watched the knight's back as he left, a concerned expression on his face. He looked back over to the village with a somber expression. He didn't know why, but his gut was giving him this feeling. An indescribable feeling that had led him to good and great things in the past. It was telling him that in the end, everything would work out, but at the expense of great hardship and sorrow. Then he looked back where Adrien had left. He wasn't sure why, but he had especially strong feeling that Adrien would be one of the main reciprocators of that hardship.

* * *

Adrien realized something rather important that he didn't know, he had no way of knowing where exactly his team was staying. First he had tried the inns, of which there were only two, but niether came up with anything. He tried to search for the local restaurant where the jaegers had gone for lunch, but got no clues either. Just some vague directions. So now he was walking the streets of Romari with no real destination. Unfortunately, storm clouds had seemed to roll in sometime, and rain began to pour on the village. Adrien did not bother to search for shelter. He walked to the town square, and looking down he saw that the rain water below him was a grayish brown. He never realized how dirty his clothes were. He supposed no one else did either.

The undead stood there in the rain, to most what would seem a lonely image, but to Adrien, he was simply enjoying the weather. His peaceful moment was interrupted by an umbrella being put over his head. He looked behind him to see Run with a thin smile on his face. The undead had not expected anyone to come for him, much less one of the quieter members of his team.

"Esdeath is wondering where you are, so is Seryu. They had me search the town, so here I am. Lets get back before Esdeath comes herself." Adrien nodded at Run's suggestion, and the two began setting off down the same road Run had come from. They remained in silence for a long while before Run decided to speak up again.

"What were you doing anyway? Just wandering?" Adrien shrugged.

"I suppose for a while I was, but when I came back to join the rest of you, I had no idea where to look, the inns proved to be of little help." Run chuckled a bit, and Adrien looked at him curiously.

"Yea, I suppose that explains why you never showed up. Esdeath rented a house for us to use for the night. She said it was more comfortable than all of us being in separate rooms." Run's explanation made Adrien hum with understanding. The two once again fell into silence, Run holding up the umbrella for both of them, him having to extend his arm a touch to cover Adrien as well as himself.

Run didn't mind the silence, and to a degree could respect that Adrien spoke sparsely and directly. Although that did also make him a curiosity. He remembered the conversation he had with the other jaegers during Dr. Stylish's funeral, most importantly, just how much they didn't know. Adrien had once again displayed powers and weapons they had not seen before when he encountered Night Raid. _If Waves, Kurome's, and Bol's testaments are to be true, then on top of everything, he has, or had, the ability to use lighting. He might even have the ability to use other elements. Earth? Wind? What were his limitations?_ Run thought a bit worriedly, and was so caught up in it, he missed the turn. He realized this quickly.

"Oh, my apologies, we missed a turn." Run then turned around, and Adrien followed suit wordlessly. Once they were on the correct street, Adrien spoke up.

"Lost in thought?" He asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. Run nodded.

"Yes, again, I apologize." Run could now see the door to their rental house, it would only be a moment longer before they got there.

"What were you thinking about?" Run's eyes widened as he felt a shiver go down his back. Adrien's question was genuine, but Run feared the reaction to the truth, and wondered if the man could pick out liars. Before he could respond, he was saved by the door to their rental house opening, revealing Bol's visage.

"C'mon! You'll both get cols out standing out there!" he yelled to the pair. Run smiled as he shook his head. _I guess that his fatherly persona coming out a bit._ Run thought as he picked up the pace a bit, with Adrien not missing a beat. As they made their way inside, Run closed the door for the two of them, and Adrien got his first look at their abode for the night. It was a cozy house, and from his position at the door, he could see the living room, and the door to the kitchen, as well as an opening to a hallway. The brick fireplace in the living room was already roaring, with Koro on a small bed resting near it. Kurome was on a recliner made for somebody much bigger than her as she read a book while holding her bag of cookies. Wave was rested on the smaller of the two couches, and waved as Adrien entered. Bols sighed as he looked both Run and Adrien over.

"Where have you been Adrien? Its almost ten'o clock." Bols asked curiously, with just a hint of an accusatory tone in his voice. Adrien looked briefly at the small tile floor before the carpet of the living room began, and realized he would have to change before he set foot into the room fully. If his still dripping wet clothes were anything to go by.

"I was exploring, patrolling, but one I came back to town, I did not know where to go. Looking in the inns was a dead end." Adrien explained, and Bols scratched the back of his head a bit.

"We uh... We never came to get you before, we assumed you knew. Of course, we only found out when Esdeath came to get us so... yea." Bols explained, and Adrien nodded. Run walked past both of them, and took a seat at the largest couch, sighing contently as he took a seat. Bols glanced at Adrien's soaking wet clothes. "You might want to-" Adrien reached Into his box, and before Bol's eyes, changed into a intricate set of clothes. The chest piece seemed to be made of a tough cloth with ornate, gold laced designs on it. It covered clothes underneath, as the sides of the chest pice continued downward, while the middle and back split apart, revealing black underclothes. Adrien's legs appeared to have two large pads of leather attached to them, and the shoes were made of the same leather. The left gauntlet appeared to be a standard leather glove, but the right gauntlet was made out of sliver plate. Finally the mask that covered Adrien's face, and the tricorn hat that adorned his head for sure gave the man a very unique appearance. "-Change your clothes." Bols simply nodded and stepped back, and went into the kitchen. Out of the kitchen came another familiar face.

"Mr Adrien!" Seryu said excitedly as she greeted him. "Its good that you came, dinners almost ready!" Adrien nodded as he followed her into the kitchen area. "I like yoru clothes Mr. Adrien." Seryu commented as they stepped through the doorway. It had hard wood floors, and was decorated with various cooking devices he could only recognize because he saw similar ones within their kitchen, inside the palace. Sitting down rather lazily was Esdeath, without her cap on, reading a local newspaper. She did not acknowledge his presence.

It was fine with Adrien, he did not necessarily care for pleasing her or not. But he did know that if he displeased her too much, it could lead to some form of punishment that could affect his ability to help the empire. Although that was just his assumption.

"Have you had turkey before?" Seryu asked as she looked into the oven, seeing the turkey was still cooking. She looked back at Adrien to see him shake his head. "Its great stuff! Especially when you have it with stuffing!" Adrien only cocked his head, a sign to Seryu he didn't have much of an idea as to what she was talking about. "Don't worry, your going to love it, I'm sure. Right general Esdeath?" The sudden question to the general did not faze the blue haired woman in the slightest.

"Its rather tasty if it's made right, but its easily made too dry if not fixed correctly. Considering Bols' cooking skills..." Esdeath seemed to think for a moment, and Seryu saw Bols look over his shoulder a bit. "...I'm sure it'll be delicious." Seryu smiled at her words, and saw Adrien nod to himself, whether in agreement, satisfaction, or both, she couldn't tell. Adrien moved away from her to the table which Esdeath was sitting at and saw him take a seat opposite to her. Suddenly a memory struck the former guard.

" _To put it bluntly, she forced me to say we were partners..."_

Seryu felt a pit in her stomach form as she watched the two of them at the table, neither one speaking. Adrien took out a small knife and began to inspect it and clean it. Seryu shook her head, deciding to focus on other things. _Now, where is the cabbage?_

* * *

Najenda stood on the edge of a cliff. But not just any cliff, this particular one overlooked a canyon in which a battle had taken place. A serious expression was on her face. Behind her Susanoo and Akame sat by the fire they had started, watching their leader curiously. The leader of Night Raid took a drag of her cigarette, turned around and walked back over to her traveling companions.

"There was a fight here, a big one." Akame nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face at Najenda's words, while Susanoo seemed to have his curiosity spiked.

"Master, did you not say that this is the same route the rest of Night Raid took?" Susanoo asked, and Najenda nodded a bit solemnly. He sat on the ground by the fire and stared into the small inferno.

"Lets hope they're all still in one piece." Najenda said ominously. Akame looked up at the stars of the Night, a grave feeling in the pit of her stomach. One that only came around when her sister was near her. Perhaps not near, but Akame could feel it wouldn't be long before she met her younger sibling again. This concerned her, more for her friends sake than her own.

* * *

 **Authors notes**

 **Its been a good minute hasn't it? Well this chapter was a bit shorter than I first anticipated, but it isn't the shortest chapter I've made. The next two will have a bit more fighting in them I promise. This has been one of the slowest chapters I've made as well, but I wanted to slow the pace down just a bit before we got into the Bolic fight and stuff. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter 17-Soul of the Vengeful

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls or Akame ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the Vengeful**

Fire, blood, death. That was all that greeted a small village within the empire on this fateful day. They had no warning, they had no time to prepare, but most importantly, they had no chance to fight back. Even if they had, they would have lost. After all, not only was Wild Hunt a team of imperial arms, they were ruthless and merciless in their fighting. They had no qualms in killing many of the adult men in the village, or severely wounding women and children to do as they wished.

"Damn it." Syura said to himself as he slit the throat of another woman who he had found unsatisfying to him. Usually he was not picky, but even seeing the heart wrenching expression of the woman's husband did not bring him any sadistic glee. So he swiftly killed him too. "I can't get her out of my mind." He said to himself as he stared down at another tied up woman, who had her blonde hair cut short, and bright green, terrified, eyes. She was a true beauty, but to him it wasn't enough. He couldn't get that Firekeeper woman out of his mind. And no woman here could get his mind off of her.

"You okay there boss?" Syura heard Enshin ask as the man approached him, fresh blood and other fluids on his face. Syura didn't need to guess where those came from.

"It's not enough." Syura said as he looked at the dozens of terrified woman he had captured. "And that damn old man and emperor won't let me have what I want." Of course with the importance and preference that the emperor was giving the Firekeeper, even his father, Honest, was forbidding him from going after the woman directly. It was frustrating, and normally he would ignore such warnings. But the threat of being hunted down by Esdeath and Budo was enough to make Syura reconsider doing anything too soon.

"Yea, it really sucks that the Prime minister is basically cock-blcoking you..." Enshin said at first, a thoughtful expression on his face, before it grew into a wicked grin. "Although if we made it look like an accident, or a kidnapping and you had evidence against you doing it, they couldn't pin it on you. We just have to wait for the right moment so it's not suspicious." Syrua considered that. On one hand, he was right that if they struck too soon and tried to make it look like an accident, they would be suspected. After all, his interest in the Firekeeper was now well known. One the other hand, if they waited long enough, and managed to make it look like a kidnapping with evidence to evict him from suspicion... They just might be able to get away with it.

* * *

Tatsumi looked up at the clear blue sky as afternoon approached. He was on patrol with Sheele, and while their main objective was to search for potential empire camps or holds, their second objective had taken precedence. Finding out if they could use Adrien's axe. They were far from the town, and should be able to test the axe without interference. The rocky landscape before them reminded Tatsumi of their fight with the jaegers. Ultimately Night Raid had come out on top, especially with the acquisition of Adrien's axe, but all of them had gotten hurt or injured. Not seriously so, but enough to remind them just who they were up against.

"Are you okay Tatsumi?" Sheele asked as she watched her friend warily. Tatsumi shook himself from his stupor. He looked over to Sheele with a tired expression.

"I guess, just thinking about everything we're going to have to do... and who we have to fight to get it done." Sheele nodded, understanding why he looked so tired. Dealing with this kind of stuff could put a lot of stress on anyone. "Anyways, lets just figure out how this thing works." Tatsumi said as he turned around and looked at the large strange axe on the ground, his gaze trying to decipher just how it functioned. He only remembered the fact that Adrien had slammed it on the ground for it's effect to take place. They had to be careful though, as it could easily harm them.

"I'll start." Sheele said as she hefted the axe. She had handled it before, and having used Extase for so long, she was used to heavy weapons, but this axe, even with it being marginally shorter than Extase, was a hair heavier. She walked away from Tatsumi to give him space, and then lifted it above her head in the same manner she remembered Adrien doing. Then she brought it down, and felt a great power surge within her and then through the weapon, culminating in the ensuing burst of wind and lightning as the axe buried itself in the ground.

"Sheele are you alright?" Tatsumi asked with concern. While the effect was similar to when Adrien used it, it was much more subdued. Sheele nodded as she pried the weapon from the ground. She lifted her right hand and flexed it. "Whats wrong?" Tatsumi asked as he approached.

"Nothing, it just... felt like it was searching for something. The weapon that is." Sheele said as she looked to him, confusion on his face. "It took something from me too... I just can't describe what it was. All I know is that I'm really tired now." Sheele said as she released her hold on the axe, and sat down on the ground, exhaustion clearly evident.

Tatsumi looked at the weapon, and then to Sheele. He was curious about what she said, but figured the weapon's 'trump card' just took a lot of energy out of the user. Considering hers was maybe three quarters the strength as what Adrien showed, it meant that there might be a limit as to how powerful the burst could be. It was great she was compatible, but he wondered if he could use it too. So he gripped it with both hands and attempted to heft it, only to realize just how heavy it was. His training was making him stronger for sure, but unlike Sheele, he wasn't used to lugging something like this around all the time. He looked over to Sheele again only for his eyes to widen. She was asleep.

"Good grief." Tatsumi said to himself. He looked at the axe, and then back to his partner for the day. "I better not use this thing, or else we'll both be out of it. I guess I'll just take her and it back to base."

* * *

Adrien watched as Esdeath and Wave sparred. She had been rather adamant about training them all. Run and Bols were on patrol, while Kurome and Seryu were watching the spar next to the undead. Adrien could tell Esdeath was still a little upset with him, but she seemed to be less so than a few days before. Ever since arriving in Kyoroch she seemed to be a bit calmer, but he wasn't exactly sure why. Their place of residence was rather nice, and situated close to the path of peace's headquarters as well, making their ability to keep an eye out for Bolic easier. They would be going to a reception party later that night in their honor, and while he was going to attend, he honestly had no desire to go.

He was taken from his thoughts by Wave being knocked to the ground hard, dust being kicked up from the impact. Once it settles, Wave was no longer wearing Grand Chariot, and he was visibly battered up. He tried to sit up, only for Esdeath's sword to be pointed at his throat. _Now that I look at it._ Nathan thought as he watched the scene. _Her sword is very similar to a great lance considering it's length and shape, but it has a cutting edge._

"Your getting better, but I still won." Esdeath said with mild disappointment. She moved her sword, and allowed Wave to get upon his own, which he did. He sighed in disappointment himself, as he hadn't even managed to land a hit on her during the whole fight. The only reason he had lasted that long was because of Grand Chariot.

"I mean, was there ever any doubt." Wave said as he moved away, and Esdeath frowned at that.

"Thats not the point of this Wave, the point is for you to improve. Which I'm happy to say, you have been." Esdeath responded with a thin smile, but before Wave could respond himself, she spoke again. "Seryu, its your turn." Seryu nodded with determination, and she faced Adrien briefly as she got up. He gave her a simple nod, and she smiled with glee as she went to spar with Esdeath. Koro decided to move from his position next to Kurome, and curled up next to Adrien. Seryu would be sparring with Esdeath by herself, as this was purely to advance her own fighting abilities. Seryu unsheathed a broadsword Adrien let her borrow for the match. At the same time, Esdeath sheather her's. Seryu looked confused. "Oh? Did you wish to spar with me? Or were you going to spar with Adrien?" Seryu's eyes widened as she turned around to see Adrien standing up with a familiar straight sword in hand.

"You asked me to teach you to fight, and while I did say after our mission was completer here, we should have enough time to at least get some practice in." Adrien explained as he approached, while Seryu seemed to be ecstatic about the prospect of sparring with Adrien. Esdeath walked past Seryu and sat down next to Kurome and Wave, the two of them watching with a renewed curiosity. Esdeath simply smirked as she watched Adrien face her, his straight sword in hand.

Adrien briefly looked down at his sword and while the others couldn't see it due to the leather armor covering his mouth, he smiled. It had been quite some time since he had gripped Anri's straight sword. Seryu faced him with a determined smile, a clear indication she was ready.

"Are you ready?" Adrien asked. He searched Seryu for any hint of hesitation or caution, but found none.

"I am." Seryu said, as she got into a fighting stance with her sword, the weapon brought out in front of her.

"Very well, know that I will not try to hurt you, but I will not hold back." Seryu simply nodded. She expected Adrien to use all his skill, but also without trying to really hurt her. She was going to simply do her best to at least hit him. They circled each other for a brief period before Adrien dashed forward.

Seryu dodged to the side, but Adrien simply followed her movement, and sliced widely in an attempt to catch her, but she moved just out of reach. She attempted to counter, but Adrien kept on the assault, swinging multiple times, each time Seryu managed to dodge the strikes. He paused, backing up a bit as Seryu began to go on the offensive. She thrusted forward as if to skewer him, but he side stepped, allowing her to rocket past him. This left her side exposed. She brought her sword up just in time to catch Adrien's as they met in a small show of sparks. Adrien brought his left shoulder to bear, and ran into her, the sudden strike causing her to lose balance. Adrien shifted and thrusted his sword at her face. She used her own to knock it out of the way, but not without receiving a cut on her cheek. She jumped up high and away from Adrien, clearly needing to think more about her approach.

Adrien would not give her the time, as he dashed after her. She jumped and stepped away from each strike as he attempted to outmaneuver her, each time just barely managing to not get hit. She attempted to get a hit in as well, but each time he too would roll or just back-step. Since he couldn't seem to catch her, he changed tactics. He dashed at her again, but this time, attempted to get behind her. She jumped froward, attempted to once again avoid him, but her leg had yet to catch up to her position mid air, and was in prime grabbing distance for the undead. He grabbed her ankle, and slammed her down on the ground making her gasp in pain. Before she knew it, he was upon her, and had a sword pointed at her throat, while her own sword was being held back with an armored gauntlet. She was defeated.

"Well done Seryu." Adrien said while pulling away, and the offered her a hand. "But you must learn to be more unpredictable." Seryu accepted the hand up and nodded, thinking about how she might be able to be more 'unpredictable'

"Yea, your kinda the king of unpredictable aren't you Mr. Adrien?" Seryu asked with a chuckled, and the knight shrugged.

"Perhaps, but I wasn't always this skilled. It took a long time for me to become this strong, and I feel you too can be skilled if you put your mind to it." Adrien's response caused Seryu to nod determinedly as she smiled up at him. "Are you hurt? Or would you like to go again?"

"I want to try again." Seryu said, and stepped away from him to get ready. Adrien nodded, recognizing her conviction. "Hey, Mr. Adrien?" He tilted his head as she addressed him. "How did you get all of these weapons anyway? These swords seem pretty normal, but you also have a bunch of powerful weapons too." Adrien thought about his answer as he stood there, and looked down to the sword in his hands. He would tell them the truth, this he already knew, but not today. "The one in your hand is nothing special, but-" Adrien stopped himself as he realized what sword he had unintentionally given her. It had been so long, he had nearly forgotten about it. He shook his head, hoping thats all it was. "Actually the one in your hand is one of the first weapons I used for an extended length of time." Seryu's eyes widened as she looked down at the broadsword, suddenly having a new appreciation for the weapon. "The one I hold... belonged to a dear friend."

* * *

The Firekeeper dipped the quill in ink again as she continued to write. Even if she couldn't see what she was writing, she knew that didn't matter anyway. The guards outside her door talked casually, being forced to guard a door all day long was not very appealing, especially to someone as politically unimportant as her, so she made it clear she did not mind of they chatted outside her door. Although if someone came by, they would stop near immediately. Her work would continue either way. She wished that the emperor would come visit more often, or that the Ashen One would return, but she knew that she was being targeted, and therefore needed to be protected. There were no bonfires here, and since it was confirmed that Adrien would revive wherever se was, she knew it was in both her best interest, and the Ashen One's that she stay safe and alive. The Ashen One would probably want her to be safe anyway, even if he didn't need her to revive.

A knock came to her door, and she recognized the gentle tapping of the maid that regularly came by immediately. While Lilith was by no means dirty, unlike the shrine, dust and ash was not a normal thing to be in the room, and since Lilith couldn't clean effectively, having a maid was somewhat necessary. The door opened soon after the knock.

"I'm coming in." The maid greeted sweetly, and Lilith smiled at the voice.

"Of course, my thanks for coming." Lilith said as the door closed.

"Its just my job Ms. Lilith, theres no need to thank me." The maid said as she put down the small bucket of water, and whipped out her duster to start. Lilith continued to write on the paper as the maid got to work. As she dusted though, she glanced at Lilith every now and again, thoughts about her mission still fresh in her mind. _Being tasked to keep track of this many people. I can understand since I'm basically their only informant, but the revolutionary army sure isn't giving me any breaks. I had just sent in my report about the Jaegers, and now I have to watch this girl. At least the Jaegers were out of town._ The maid's thoughts drifted to the lady once again as she dusted off the table. _This woman though, the only reason she's important is because she's connected to that Adrien person._

As the maid-spy continued to clean, something very suspicious just occurred to her, and she turned to the woman to make sure she was seeing it correctly. Yes, right in front of her very eyes, a blind woman was writing something on paper. She froze, stupefied at the sight. She cautiously approached behind Lilith, and peeked over her shoulders to see a strange collection of symbols and shapes that she couldn't understand, but because of the general form and patterns she saw, it looked almost like a language. She was confused as to how she could write even remotely legible. So confused, she forgot just how long she had been staring.

"May I help thee?" Lilith asked, having sensed the woman's presence over her shoulder for some time. Mostly because of the lack of cleaning sounds, and the quiet footsteps that had approached behind her a few moments ago, she had been able to discern where the maid was. She heard a small gasp from the woman, apparently not having expected to be found out.

"O-Oh! I-I apologize Ms. Lilith, I was just curious about what you were writing, thats all." The Maid quickly answered, recomposing herself from her embarrassment.

"It is alright, I supposeth that it is strange to see one without eyes writing." The Firekeeper responded, stopping her work to respond, and hoping to not arouse any more suspicion. The Maid paused, and did not say anything for a moment, before she began to walk away.

"Yes, it was rather odd." The maid spoke in such a tone that made the Firekeeper believe she was engrossed in thought. She was about to start again, before she put down the pen, and folded up the parchment, deciding to work on it more when the maid had left.

* * *

Adrien walked alone through the streets of Kyoroch as the afternoon sun hit him. Many payed no head to him, as the appearance of someone armored like he, was not an uncommon sight. The main reason he was out was to get a feel for the streets himself, and while he could have brought someone with him, he opted to simply let Run know he would be exploring the city by himself, and leave it at that. If Night Raid found him and really did try something, they would have the city guard to deal with, on top of himself. So he was confident in his ability to not get into trouble as he explored. _Whats the worse that could happen?_

Right as that thought crossed his mind, two familiar faces crossed his vision. Lapp and Mine, as they seemed to be exploring the city as well. Adrien swiftly stepped into an alley out of their sight before he changed his armor. Instead of his undead legion set which was now thoroughly associated with him, he equipped the black leather set, which consisted of a plain black tunic with a leather pauldrun on the right shoulder and a smaller metal one on the left shoulder. The leggings were rather thick for something so plain, but he wasn't complaining, as the armor made him look rather inconspicuous. Just in case, he equipped the thief mask as well, which came with a dark hood to conceal him. He stepped out of the alley and saw both of them walk past him. Only Patches took notice.

"Ey Mine." Patches began, prompting the smaller girl to turn towards him. "Why don't you go on ahead for a bit, Ive got something to check on. I saw something in a shop that looked familiar." His question lingered in the air for a moment as Mine narrowed her eyes at him, a very suspicious look on her face. But after a while she sighed.

"Alright fine, but make it quick, I'll be waiting over there at that clothes store." Mine said with an annoyed huff as she pointed to the store in question just down the road from where they were. Normally she wouldn't have allowed him to leave her sight, but after witnessing him fight Adrien personally had made a bit of an impression on the woman. She would allow him a little leeway. So she turned away from him, allowing him to do what he needed to do.

Patches followed Adrien through the alleyway, only to step in and not see him. He continued on into the alley, passing a few other alleys that intersected, but saw nothing down those except for garbage. The a fist struck his back, and the a harder strike hit the back of his head forcing him onto the ground face first.

"Theres only one sorry sod that has that kind of strength." Patches said as he slowly got back up, and turned around to see Adrien still in his 'disguised' form. "I suppose that was payback for plunging on you the first time I saw you in the capital?" Adrien just crossed his arms, and patches laughed a bit.

"So, you joined Night Raid to fight the greedy and the corrupt I take it?" Adrien asked with a trace of sarcasm, already half knowing the answer. Patched only shrugged.

"Pretty much. Although it was also to stave off all this boredom, and be in the middle of the action." Patches answered honestly as he took off his helmet. Adrien leaned against the wall of the alley as he thought. Patches could tell that his friend was conflicted, and it was more that just them fighting, it was the whole situation. Patches could understand, as Adrien was trying to strike a balance between fixing the empire, helping those within it, and trying not to do more harm than good.

"That sounds like you, but please try to keep damages to a minimum." Adrien responded, and Patches gave him a cheeky grin. Before he could say anything Adrien spoke again. "I care not for the targets themselves, but if the opportunity ever presents itself, do not kill the Emperor or General Budo. They do care for the people of this land. I trust you will be able to tell the difference between those that care and those that don't." Patches grin died down a hair, but he kept an understanding smile on his face.

"No promises, but trust me when I say that Bolic is one bastard that deserves everything coming to him." Patches' words made Adrien wonder just what the man had done. Nonetheless he trusted Patches, and if he said that this man was irredeemable, he would take him at his word.

"I say the same for the prime minister. Humanity radiates terribly when he's around If anything could start an abyssal outbreak, it would be him." Patches' smile disappeared completely at that. And he practically glared at Adrien, but not seeing any kind of farce in his language, he nodded grimly. "Anyways, I should not keep you. Be safe Patches." Adrien said as he began to walk away.

"You too friend, and I do apologize about your axe." Patches said as Adrien walked off. The ashen one shrugged as he left the alley, leaving patches to go reunite with his companion.

* * *

"Welcome back, how'd the trip into the city go?" Leone asked as Mine and Lapp entered the hideout. Leone was there, spread out on one of the sofas in the living room, and on the other sofa and chair across from her were some familiar faces. Mine's eyes widened a bit as a smile appeared on her face. Lapp simply nodded to them.

"Najenda, Akame, Susanoo! Your here!" Mine said as she went up to them, excitement and relief on her face. They smiled at her approach, clearly glad to their fellow comrade. Leone made a pouty face as they approached.

"I see how it is, you don't see them for a week, and you suddenly forget about me." Leone said, sarcasm in her voice as she pretended to be upset. Najenda simply laughed as Mine approached. Akame got up from her place on the couch and hugged Mine, a smile on her face. Lapp approached as well.

"I'm glad your okay Akame, we've really missed you." Mine greeted, relief in her voice, but Akame's smile drooped a bit at that. "Whats wrong?" Susanoo stood up, getting the young sniper's attention.

"Akame's injuries were rather severe. She'll still be able to fight, but she'll never truly recover. She needs to rest a little more, and we shouldn't let her fight alone." Susanoo's words made Mine's smile drop immediately as both worry and sadness overtook her features. "But as long as we are careful, she should be fine."

"But please don't worry too much. I'll be fine." Akame reassured her friend, an easing smile on her face, but Mine's look did not subside, if anything her worry for her friend simply increased. Najenda looked at them with worry as well. _With Akame's condition, we can't afford any more costly fights. We might have a numbers advantage, but Adrien was able to take on four of us at once._ Najenda thought, remembering what she had been told about the fight at the mansion. _We were lucky Tatsumi and Leone were there. I don't know anyone else except for Lapp and Susanoo that could have taken hits like that._ Najenda's thoughts were interrupted by Lapp approaching her directly.

"So have you met with everyone else?" Lapp asked curiously, and Najenda smiled as she nodded.

"Everyone except for Sasha and Lubbock, The rest I've greeted, and should be around if your interested." Lapp nodded, thankful everyone else had returned safely. "Which is weird, because Leone told me they were going to be scouting around where-" She stopped as the door to their hideout opened and in stepped the two remaining assassins. "Well speak of the devils." However both of the imperial arms users had deathly serious expression on their faces. Before anyone could ask, Lubbock spoke.

"The Jaegers are here. We saw them not far from the temple. Specifically we saw Esdeath with that girl that looks like Akame's sister. At least I assume its her." Lubbock's statement made the others look at them gravely. It had only been two days since they themselves had arrived, and with the Jaegers here, it would become more risky to explore the city. But they already knew this would happen, which was why they had been experimenting with Adrien's axe in the meantime, attempting to find a practical way to use it. "They might have gotten here sooner, and we had just never noticed them."

"Thats to be expected." Najenda said, gaining their attention. "Plans proceed as normal. No one goes alone, and if possible, we go in groups of three. With characters like Esdeath and Adrien on the loose, we can't be too careful." They all nodded, understanding that it was best safe than sorry in this kind of situation. "The way I understand it now, the axe saps someone's energy drastically, but is still capable of delivering a storm-like explosion. Sheele has tested it, but who else?" Lubbock and Sasha both raised their hands.

"We've both tested it out, but we can only use it once. Tatsumi has yet to test it, and neither has Lapp or Leone." Lubbock said, before he paused and realized something. "Oh, Najenda your back." Najenda ignored the last statement, and continued.

"We should see what kind of effects it has on everyone else before we try to fight anyone. It would be best to know our limitations with the weapon. After that, we'll focus on patrolling the city and taking out the four Rakshasa demons. They are Bolic's personal bodyguards. If we can take them out prior to him, it'll make our job that much easier." Everyone nodded at Najenda, their plan and objectives set.

* * *

Later that same night, the Jaegers were about to attend the reception party that was being thrown in their honor. Esdeath had instructed them that they could wear what they liked, as long as it was formal attire. So each of them were dressed in a different way. Adrien stood in his Drakeblood armor set within a welcome room outside of the ballroom where the party for them was being held. Standing with him was Kurome, Wave, and Seryu, who was holding koro. Run and Bols were both sitting on a velvet lined couch, as they listened to their team. Kurome and were wearing dresses to match their hair, and usual color pallet they seemed to wear. While Wave was wearing a dark blue suit and tie with a white dress shirt underneath. Currently they were waiting on the rest of their team so they could enter the ballroom as a group as per request of Esdeath.

"I don't really see much a point in this party." Wave commented as he eyed the door to the ballroom warily. "I don't know why, but it seems a little inappropriate considering what we're here to do. We should be on guard 24/7." Kurome hummed as she munched on her snacks, a contemplative expression on her face.

"Maybe, they just better have some good food." Kurome commented simply causing Wave to nearly facepalm. Seryu smiled sweetly at him.

"But everyone thats really important or that could be a guard is going to be here right? Theres no way Night Raid would be stupid enough to launch an attack with security as high as it is." Seryu offered, causing Wave to put his hand on his chin as he thought about those words.

"Exactly right Seryu." A familiar voice came from around the corner that led to another part of the mansion they were at. Esdeath stepped out wearing a plain light blue dress that seemed to sparkle slightly in the light. She approached her team as some of they looked at her in shock at her attire. "Relax Wave, theres no need to be on edge, it is exactly as Seryu said, plus, even if they did arrive earlier than we did, that doesn't mean they're suddenly ready to take us on." Esdeath paused, her eyes locked on the young man as he stood there nervously. Then she turned toward the rest of her team. "This party is being thrown in our honor, take this time to enjoy yourselves, and indulge a bit. While we wait fro our adversaries to make their move, We'll need to be on constant patrol so we can catch them early. We won't have another opportunity to wind down for a while. So enjoy it while it lasts." Esdeath's words struck true with everyone there, but the ominous tone to them was not lost on any of them either.

"She's right." Everyone was surprised to hear Adrien speak up. "We all need rest from time to time, even me." That actually got Wave and Seryu to chuckle a bit. "So allow yourselves this evening friends. I believe you've earned it." Everyone, especially Esdeath, smiled at his words, not only because of the calm tone, but because it was refreshing to hear such words come from Adrien.

"Then theres no time to waste." Esdeath said, grabbing Adrien right arm, and hooking her left arm with it. They walked to the Ballroom doors and opened them, revealing all of the guests, ready to welcome them.

They were quickly greeted and welcomed by many of the merchants and nobles within the room, each of them exchanging pleasantries with the jaegers, especially Esdeath. Of course, being both the leader of the Jaegers and a general of the empire would get some attention. Although since she was clinging to Adrien throughout the whole party, the undead got a lot of rather unwanted attention as well.

"Almost feel bad for him." Wave said as he watched several nobles greet both Adrien and Esdeath. While the young imperial arms user couldn't see Adrien's face because of the ornate helmet, he could almost feel the discomfort from him. Kurome was next to him as the two of the hung around the snack table, thankfully only a few nobles and merchants had approached them, but the ones that did were mostly doing so out of courtesy. They knew that most of the Jaegers were unimportant in the political landscape of the empire, such is why most were revolving around Esdeath.

"He'll get over it." Kurome said coldly as she munched on a large brownie that she got from the snack table behind them. Seryu walked up next to them, having procured a plate of pie from the snack looked over and saw how Esdeath and Adrien were being talked to by multiple nobles.

"Where did Run and Bols go?" Seryu asked curiously, two which Wave simply pointed toward a platform above most of the party where she could see her two teammates talking with Bolic, and an older man with ornate robes. "Is that..?"

"Yep, The leader of the path of peace. We're to protect Bolic, as he's been a target by the revolution, but not the real leader." Wave commented, a bit of suspicion in his voice. He was curious as to why the revolutionaries would want to go after 'just' the second-in-command of anything if they were targeting something. After all if they could get their hands on both the emperor and the prime minister, they wouldn't hesitate to kill both of them.

"Because he isn't the real leader." Kurome said, surprising both Wave and Seryu. "The Path of Peace's lord is weak, Bolic calls 90% of the shots in the path of peace already, but he can't do anything outside of what the old man has already laid down. The revolutionaries want him gone because they think he'll use the Path of Peace to the empire's benefit."

"Really!?" Both Wave and Seryu exclaimed with surprise, to which Kurome shrugged.

"Thats the way the empire puts it at least. Next time, make sure you read the whole file before you just put it away somewhere." Kurome lightly scolded as both Wave and Seryu looked away with some embarrassment. "Anyways, look." She said, nodding to the leaving froms of Esdeath and Adrien, as well as Bolic, run, and Bols. They were all leaving, seemingly in the same direction. "We should go too if we don't want to be left behind." Wave and Seryu nodded as they made their way to follow the rest of their team.

* * *

"So, these bodyguards are dangerous are they not?" Adrien asked as he watched Bolic, Bols, and Run meet up with him and Esdeath in the vacant hidden hallway where they were going to meet and talk to the four Rakshasa Demons. The four of them acted as Bolic's bodyguards, and were loyal to the empire.

"Quite, but none of them are imperial arms users." Bolic said as he walked along side them, an odd grin on his face. "Which is why you all are here, because even if the demons could take out one or two members of Night Raid, that wouldn't be enough to stop them." Adrien did not respond. While he has had several encounters with Night Raid, none of them lacked an imperial arms, nor did they lack in skill. Adrien could tell without their weapons they could still be dangerous, and so he was suspicious if these 'demons' would be able to face them when they were armed. Adrien turned around to see the rest of the Jaegers following, having left the party in favor of keeping up with their team. They came upon an open room with doors on all four walls, two of them were open, revealing in one, a stairway with moonlight seeping through, and the other was a hallway that led to another part of the building. "These hallways are only accessible to the staff, allowing them to more easily reach the other rooms without getting in other peoples ways. That room is where the Demons stay." Bolic said, pointing to the only closed door that was right in front of them.

"So you guys are the Jaegers huh?" a rough voice called from their left, to see that standing in the doorway that had moonlight, a thin, but toned, man was standing there with a cocksure grin. His hair was a strange shade of purple, and his eyes had an unnatural shape to the pupils. He wore no shirt, and instead only had shorts and armored bracings on his arms. What also stood out were the strange red marking on his face and body that contrasted heavily with his pale skin.

"Ah, Ibara, your the first one to arrive, do you know where the others are?" Bolic asked as he looked around briefly.

"We're right here." A somewhat gentle voice answered as three more people entered out of the other hallway. The one that had spoken was wearing an odd dress of some kind, and sported the same armored gauntlets that Ibara wore. She had black hair tied back into a spiky bun, and black eyes, with a small scar across her nose. The second one to enter was a huge, bare chested man with a large black beard, but no hair. He had strange symbols in his eyes like Ibara, and lad large bushy eyebrows. He wore a pair of loose fitting pants, a large iron pauldron on his right shoulder, and also had large armored plates on his forearm. The final one to enter was a petite tan woman with blonde hair dressed up in spiky pigtails, and green eyes. She wore long leggings and a shirt top, but it was left open, revealing her bikini top. Like the others, she too wore armor on her forearms.

"Excellent, I wanted all of you to meet the Jaegers, who will be working with us until the threat on my life is gone." Bolic said, gesturing to the ones following him, the Jaegers looking at the demons somewhat curiously. Then Ibara smirked wickedly, something that Adrien was finding increasingly common to people that worked with the empire.

"Don't look that tough, but looks aren't everything." Ibara said mockingly, causing every one of the jaegers to frown.

"Now Now Ibara, theres no need to be like that." The tanned woman said, stepping forward, a cheery smile on her face. "My names Mez, it'll be fun working with ya. The big guy is Sten, and the shrine girl is Suzuka, you already know Ibara." She extended a hand to Esdeath, who shook it with a smile.

"Of course, I do hope we will be successful in our hunt." Esdeath said to her, and then to the demon's collectively. "Ive heard you've killed imperial arms users without having one yourselves. An impressive feat, but Night Raid is experienced, and highly trained." Esdeath's subtle jab did not go unnoticed as the demons once again smiled smugly.

"Doesn't matter, they're still human." Sten said, crossing his arms with a wide grin. "They'll all die the same." Adrien narrowed his eyes at that. While he was fine with the demons so far, they had an air of both arrogance and confidence. As if they thought they were untouchable, and had the experience to back up their beliefs. Something that can easily get them killed, or someone they're fighting with.

"At least your confident." Wave said a bit sheepishly, him, Seryu, and Kurome standing at the back of the small group.

"Arrogant." Kurome said simply, before she munched down on one of her cookies, but the comment had not gone unnoticed, and Ibara frowned, his ego obviously hurt by the little girl.

"Oh? You think so little girl?" Ibara asked threateningly, staring at the girl, but Kurome remained unflinching under the glare. This only irritated him more, and looked to say something more, but Bolic beat him to it.

"Come now Ibara, theres no need to be aggressive, we're all on the same side." The mand stated, trying to calm his bodyguards down. Then a far more serious expression "I believe we should get down to business anyway, about our plans for the foreseeable future." He hummed, making sure everyone was paying attention. "We should have patrols close to the palace regularly performed by the Jaeger,s meanwhile, I want the demons to go on the offensive, and try to catch Night Raid in case they are on patrols within the city as well."

"Hmm, why not expand our patrols to the rest of the city?" Esdeath asked, looking at Bolic. "We can leave one or two patrols close to the palace, and the rest will be in the other parts of the city. We can even distribute myself and Adrien between the two different kinds of patrols. Adrien is near equal in power to myself, so he would do well either way." Esdeath glanced at Adrien, and saw him turn to her a bit curiously. Bolic stroked his beard as he thought about the prospect. Mez's eyes went to the armored man with an appraising gaze.

"Huh, never heard of you before, but then again, we don't hear that much aside from what we need to hear." Mez said, a sly smile on her face. "To think the empire had another Budo or Esdeath up their sleeve." She approached the armored man with a surprisingly cheery smile. "Aside from that, I believe that sounds like a sound plan. We can spread out and cover more ground individually if we need to, I'm sure Night Raid's going to be spreading out their forces too." Mez said, addressing the larger group. No one responded, seemingly in agreement with her.

"I don't believe that would be wise." Adrien stated suddenly, speaking up for the first time since meeting the demon, prompting them to turn to him. "even with your skill, Night Raid is formidable, it would be wise if we were at least in teams of two. Acting individually would be perilous." Mez considered his words, and Esdeath hummed approvingly.

"He speaks the truth, especially in regards to Akame, the one-cut-killer. If she encounters someone on their own. There's a high probability that they won't come back, even more so if she herself is not alone." Esdeath stated, and the demons looked at each other with sly smiles. As if they thought it didn't matter. Bolic nodded as well.

"Yes, now that I consider that, It would be best for everyone to be cautious. Then we will go with Adrien's and Esdeath's suggestion. No one is to act alone while Night Raid is about." The demons seemed reluctant, but since they were under orders, they wouldn't say anything. The other jaegers were actually a bit relieved that their approach would be a more cautious one. Esdeath glanced at Adrien with an appreciative smile, while Adrien wondered what exactly was going through her head.

* * *

Adrien followed Esdeath into the room where the two of them would be staying, and saw that the room was well decorated, with a bed that rivaled Esdeath's at the palace. The colors of the room were brown and tan, with ornate red rugs on top of the hard wood floor. A large window-door led to a balcony to the left of the front door, and there was a door at the back of the room which he could see led to a bathroom. He assumed the other Jaegers had similar lodgings, if not slightly less ornate.

"Would you care to join me for a shower? I'm sure you could use one." Esdeath teased as she easily removed her light blue dress, revealing her unnecessarily lacy undergarments. "I also had a question to ask." At this Adrien's head perked up. He was still wearing his Drake-blood armor set, not having switched it out since the meeting with the four Rakshasa demons. He waited as Esdeath turned to him, a slightly more serious, but also curious look on her face. "I heard you mention things about your past when you were sparring with Seryu. What were you referring to?" Adrien froze as she posed that question, and looked down, somewhat unsure of how to answer. But seeing her staring at him, waiting for his answer, he relented.

"I've had several different companions in my past. They were good people, and most of them met a fate they accepted. Some of them, not so." Adrien began, memories of Anri and Horace beginning to resurface. "When they past, I made a note to collect as much of their gear as I could, so I would never forget, and some of that equipment has served me in battle. The sword I was using belonged to a companion of mine, that is all." Esdeath's eyes widened a bit as he said that, but a gentle smile soon adorned her face, and she approached Adrien with a surprisingly understanding gaze.

"These companions served you in combat, did they not?" Adrien merely nodded as Esdeath stopped just short from the face of his helmet. "Would you mind telling me about them then? I would like to know of your past adventures." Esdeath giggled a bit as she said thing, but noticed Adrien's body had not moved, and the air seemed heavy.

"Perhaps... it is time." Adrien said somewhat ominously as he stepped aside, and moved for the bed, sitting down on it, his armored frame making the bed groan in protest. Adrien thought for a few moments wether or not to tell Esdeath of his nature as an undead, and the magic he could freely use. He understood everyone still had questions about his abilities, and telling them of his true self would answer those inquiries, but he was still concerned over what their vision of him would become. Would he be viewed as a monster like so many other of his kind, not that they would be wrong. Esdeath walked in front of him, and reached for his helmet. Adrien did not resist as she pulled it off, and then hugged his head into her waiting bosom.

"It's okay my love, whatever you need to say, I will listen." Esdeath said with a gentleness one would not expect from the icy-haired woman. In the end, Adrien decided that he would wait a little while longer to tell them the whole truth, but he could share a story.

"I'll tell you of a great companion of mine, Seigward..." for the next hour Adrien went into detail about his encounter with the knight of Catarina, and Esdeath seemed quite amused by him, and seemed to admire his tale of valor. When he told Esdeath about Yhorm, and how he had helped Seigward kill the giant, he was hesitant to end the story. But he did, and told her how Seigward had taken his own life after his duty had been fulfilled. Once he was done, he looked to Esdeath, and she smiled sweetly.

"This must have been some time ago correct?" Esdeath asked, and Adrien nodded simply. "I see. Thank you for sharing that with me my love, I enjoyed that." She said as she stroked his hair gently, his near white hair feeling rather greasy and unwashed in her hands, but that didn't matter to her. All that did matter was that he was here with her, and that he was beginning to open up. "So, how would you like to join me for a bath?" Esdeath asked, whispering low in his ear, and caressing the side of his face.

Esdeath, despite her cruel demeanor toward her enemies in war, cared deeply for her troops, and she tried her best to be as generous as possible to those that prove their worth. She understood Adrien's story, and upon hearing of Seigward's quest, couldn't help but get the impression of someone she would be more that happy to duel. What she did not understand was why he has taken his own life. Certainly he had slain this 'giant', his former friend, but why not live out the rest of the days he had left, or start a family? Adrien would not share much further upon those inquiries, but the general did not mind, as this was the night she would finally make him hers.

Adrien was still mostly unfamiliar with this age's hygiene instruments. He understood basic concepts, and how certain utilities replaced his own ages version of them, but he was still rather shocked that steaming hot water could simply come out of a pipe from a wall. Esdeath herself was not intimately familiar with the mechanisms involved, so he would have to wait and ask someone else he supposed. What did not surprise him though was how much dirt came from his naked body, years of fighting in the dirt, ash, mud, and blood had added many layers of dirt to his body, but most of it was often hidden under his armor, or was on the armor itself. Esdeath had made a point to help him wash, and it was clear from the start, her alternative objective. She wished to lay with him. He supposed if he waited or put it off any longer she might try to force him. With reluctance he played along, he only wished the Firekeeper would understand if she ever found out.

* * *

"I didn't know Kyoroch's borders extended so far." Run said as he looked about his surroundings, searching for anything out of place. Adrien walked up beside him, looking over the cliff where Run was, seeing Kyoroch a few miles out, the gentle lights of the city still visible against the Night. "How much farther do we have to go?" Adrien glanced at Run, and then to the landscape ahead of them.

"Not much, after another hour walk that way..." Adrien said, pointing ahead and slightly right of their location. "...Then we head back towards the city." Run nodded as he began to head right, walking along the cliff. The breeze picked up a bit as he walked, not surprising considering the landscape, and the trees along the edge came as welcoming sight, as the rocky terrain around the city could get tiresome. Then he reached where the cliff met with another, forming a sharp angle, and would allow one to peer down into the small valley below.

He and Adrien both approached the edge. Adrien to Run's right, as they scanned the valley below them, it was mostly barren, with a forest that led further away from the city not too far away. The center also had three figures all standing in the center, one of which appeared to be... Run's eyes widened in shock, but it was too late. A beam of energy rocketed towards Adrien faster than either of the men could react. The energy beam easily punctured Adrien's leather armor, and passed through, hitting the tree behind him as he toppled over from the force. Run unfurled his imperial arms and used his angelic wings to send flurries of lighting fast feathers toward them. He recognized two of them. One was the pink haired sniper of Night Raid named Mine, while the other was the new user of the Incursio armor.

The third was unfamiliar to him, but the woman was dressed in dark blue dancer garb, and sported two dark blue daggers of unusual design. The bottom half of her face was covered with a blue mask.

Adrien slowly got to his feet, watching Run fire at their enemies, and it reminded him greatly of the angels within the ringed city. Adrien had caught a glimpse of who was there. Mine, Tatsumi, and that one bandit woman. It was three against two, and Adrien had experience with each one. He would need to act wisely as to keep Run out of danger. If worst came to worst, he could always have Run fly to the city to get help. Adrien approached the edge to see the three of them, Tatsumi and Mine had found cover behind a boulder, but the blue haired bandit had created a wind veil of some kind, and any of the projectiles that got close were steered to either side of her. Once he approached the edge, and could see her eyes, he saw the unmistakable sight of her objective: revenge.

* * *

 **Authors notes:**

 **I know its been a minute, but Life has been busy. But I have some good news for you. I'm already working on the next shop class chapter, and for those of you interested: I'll be making a second chapter to 'The Worst Berserker' It was originally a one shot, but I've decided to give it a sequel so to speak. Don't expect regular updates, but I thought I'd make a new chapter since everyone really liked what I was going for. Don't be afraid to leave reviews on my chapters if you want, as seeing what you all thing always encourages me to write more.**

 **So basically what I'm saying is that after the next chapter of Shop Class will most likely come the new Worst berserker chapter, and then I'll be updating blades. I know that might seem cruel, but I'm going to try to start writing more, Ive set an objective for 1,000 words a day, and while I may not get there every day, I'm going to try. Along with that and other things, I'm trying to improve upon myself with the extra time I've found myself with. I also just want to Thank you all for your continued support. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **...Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18-Soul of the vengeful part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls or Akame Ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the Vengeful part 2**

Adrien swiftly found a safer passage down into the chasm, and slid down a steep path. Run flew up higher, and gained a better angle to shoot from, but narrowly dodged a shot from Mine as he entered line of sight of her. Then Run seemed to notice the Incursio user was missing. He fried a volley at Mine, but She managed to jump behind the same boulder from before. This put her in view of Adrien.

Adrien reached the bottom, and was immediately assaulted by what he could only describe as blades of wind. He had faces a similar power with the Nameless King, but those attacks had largely been visible, while these were nearly imperceptible. Two of the 'Blades' sliced at him before he managed to get his shield up, blocking three more. When he lowered his shield to see the woman was glaring at him with intense hatred.

"Do you remember me?" She asked angrily.

"I do, but I never learned your name." Adrien answers quickly. Despite the fact she was trying to kill him, he did not wish to earn any more ire from her. An angry and flailing opponents was often just as deadly as a patient and calculating one if they had enough raw power. Adrien himself preferred to combine his raw power with his cunning to get the better of his enemies.

"Sasha." She said, somewhat surprised by the courteousness. "Now that introductions are finished, why don't we get back to it? I want you dead for what you did. You killed my best friends." Adrien did not immediately respond, but instead cocked his head curiously.

"But you were all bandits. Did you not expect the local law to come after you?" A silence passed between them as Adrien offered up that point of logic. Then Sasha charged him, her speed being enough that he almost didn't block the two daggers aiming for his throat. "No point in talking I suppose." The Agile woman leapt backwards, and sent two powerful gusts of wind at Adrien with a swing from each of her arms. The gales were powerful enough to force him to slide backwards, his leather boots digging into the dit. He glanced to his side to see Run fighting off both Mine and Tatsumi from a distance.

The Angelic Jaeger fired blast after blast at the duo, but they seemed to either find cover, avoid the strikes, or Tatsumi would block them effectively. Then he left his side open fro too long, and Mine did not waste the opportunity. A quick blast towards him, and while only grazing, the look of pain on his face was recognizable.

 _He should not be dealing with two of them at once. If I could only get Mine's attention on me..._ Adrien is pulled from his thoughts as the winds around him pick up, flowing and twisting around him, encircling him. He looked around curiously, but recognizing his situation, he breaks a sprint in the direction of Mine, only for the winds to batter him away. _Those winds are strong... but... Sasha_ lands in front of him smugly, between him and the winds.

"You seem to be faltering Adrien, you aren't holding back are you? Or were you always this weak?" Sasha taunted him, but he simply shook his head in disappointment.

"You should never underestimate your opponents." Adrien said simply, before he attacked the clear winds. Sasha wondered what exactly he was doing, the winds of this barrier were meant to contain powerful danger beasts, and beasts twice the size of a house. _He would never be able to break throug-_ Her thoughts were interrupted as he sword seemed to break the winds themselves, acting an an unstoppable force against her winds. The flat side of the blade swung against the winds, and seemed to leave a gap long enough for Adrien to pounce through and raise his massive sword for another attack. The zweihander barely missed Sasha, and the ground where she was standing erupted in a cloud of dirt and rubble, sending her sprawling. Adrien ignored her, and rushed after Mine.

Mine smiled at her successful graze, but she could have done more damage if Pumpkin was in it's machine gun mode. If she had enough time, she might be tempted to switch, but unfortunately Run wasn't the only Jaeger she had to worry about. As that thought ran through her head, she turned around just in time to see the edge of a silver shield ram into her gut, making her hunch over, and cough up spittle. She slumped forward, the wind completely knocked out of her. Adrien simply stepped over the downed Assassin, but not before kicking her gun far away from her.

Adrien glanced down at Mine, who couldn't even look up due to her current condition, and then looked back to Tatsumi and Run. Tatsumi had been able to use a rather tall boulder to leap up and attempt to attack Run, but the effort was proving futile. Only when he noticed the sudden quiet of gunfire did Tatsumi look back to see Mine on the ground, and Adrien standing over her.

"Mine!" Tatsumi shouted, and while he was distracted, Run shot several arrows into his right side. He ignored it though, and ran toward the pink-haired girl. "You Bastard!" Adrien simply reached for his tool belt and swiftly retrieved the four-barreled pistol from his belt, the large hunting pistol firing off a shot. The shot grazed Tatsumi's right leg, but did little damage otherwise, but the second met it's mark in his left knee, and while not drawing blood due to Incursio, it made Tatsumi trip and fall face first, nearly ten feet away from his target. While on his stomach, Tatsumi received two more shots to his back from the pistol, the huge bullets not penetrating, but definitely causing pain. Before he could even respond, He was bombarded with a volley from Run, the beams making some of Tatsumi's armor crack under their strength.

Adrien felt a slight tingle at the back of his skull, almost like a strange foreboding. Before he could question it, Mine was picked up by barely visible winds. Adrien tried to reach out and grab her, but a dark blue dagger found itself embedded in his arm. He looked behind to see Sasha rushing at him, the winds provided by her imperial arms increasing her speed drastically. Mine was placed not far from her gun, and even though she struggled, she managed to get her hands on it. The dagger ripped itself from his arm, tearing the leather of the abyss watcher armor, and causing quite a bit of grey blood to spill out. Adrien grunted in annoyance as he saw the dagger tear his armor up. Normally the armor would be fine, it's strange ability to not be affected from attacks something it had in common with all his other armors, but every now and again a particular attack would seem to deal quite a bit of damage to his armor as well as himself.

The dagger returned to Sasha, a new large gash in his sleeve, exposing his near-white pale flesh. Adrien looks between the two women, and then back to Tatsumi, to see him struggling to get up amongst smoldering rocks. Beams of light strike in front of Sasha, and she is forced to dodge, and abandon her attack. _We are getting nowhere._ Adrien surmises, and faces Mine, who was now standing and beginning to aim her weapon, albeit shakily. Sasha weaves between the beams of light, and rushes toward Adrien from his side, Run attempts to dissuade her, but she sends a powerful gust of wind his way, throwing him off course, his wings being thrown off.

"Adrien!" Run yells somewhat frantically, and watches as Sasha rushes Adrien at full speed. Adrien raises his sword, and begins to strike to his other side, in the opposite direction of Sasha. Her eyes widened, and her grin grew with glee. _He's exposing his back, he's probably trying to finish off Tatsumi. Even so, I can still get his back! Sasha_ thought as he speed increased even more.

" **Slash of Storms!** " Sasha yelled as her speed took her to Adrien in the same instant he attacked. One of her abilities with her imperial arms allowed her to condense air both in front and behind her blades to act as a super sharp cutting edge, and to boost them forward with even more speed. She was aiming for his neck, hoping to decapitate him, and then slow down once she passed him. She was going to simply move on Adrien's right, and strike him. Adrien's attack swung around to her in an instant, moving his whole body to swing at her, and he aimed low. Very low.

"AHHHHHH!" Sasha screamed in mind-rending agony as her legs were cut off from right above the knees down. Her blades struck true though, and the sheer momentum caused Adrien's helmet to clatter to the ground and a large spray of grey blood followed it. He shakes his head, and annoyed expression on his face as he looks down to his helmet and Sasha. She briefly stops screaming when she notices the pointed piece of headwear, and then looks up to see his face. Red eyes staring back at her dark blue. She says nothing, the pain having not gone away, but the fear his eyes instilled in her overpowering everything else.

"Sasha!" Mine yells, seeing their newest member get cut down, blood staining the ground around her. She picks up her weapon and aims it at Adrien, but Tatsumi quickly get up and slams into Adrien's shield, but keeps the pressure on, not letting the knight rest. Mine fires, striking Adrien's back multiple times. While slow to fire, the danger of the fight meant that her weapon was operating a lot more efficiently than usual.

Adrien couldn't keep this up much longer. He could feel his heath drain more and more, soon enough he would die again. In order to stop such an event he attacks Tatsumi with his Zweihander, and while a normal human would not have been able to avoid such a strike, Tatsumi jumped back, out of reach of the strike. Before he could retaliate, Adrien reached into his box.

All of Adrien's armor changed to a rather causal looking tunic. The earthen colors of the clothes were very inconspicuous, and could have easily been mistaken for a low noble's set of clothes. The coat was an earth brown with a red sash at the neck, and had some basic regal designs along it's seams. the tanned leather gauntlets and boots had somewhat regal designs that matched the coat as well. The oddest part though was the strange wing-eared head-dress that adorned Adrien's now unprotected head. In his left hand was a massive silver greatshield with a strange emblem, and in his right was an odd looking aquamarine crystal greatsword. On his back was what appeared to be a basic wooden staff, only slightly curved at the top.

Needless to say, the new look was not what anyone was expecting.

"W-What is that?" Tatsumi asked incredulously, before he was forced to dodge Run's projectiles. The assassin jumped up high and attempted to swipe at Run, only to met with nothing but air. Then Tatsumi threw the spear at the Jaeger, managing to slice at one of his wings as Run attempted to dodge.

Adrien watched the exchange, worrying for Run briefly before he felt something strike his back hard. He stumbled forward slightly before he turned towards the attack with the Lothric Knight Greatshield, blocking another two. He brought out his estus flask and took a large swig, noting that now without his normal armor, and instead using the old sorcerer set to save on his equip load, attacks would be far more impactful.

"I don't care what you look like, or what you bring out!" Mine yelled vehemently. "Your not getting away this time!" She fired more into the shield, the imperial arms seemingly doing nothing against the silver shield. The undead looked down at his hands, noting the Scholar ring, Cloraththy ring, Bellowing Dragoncrest ring, and Lingering Dragoncrest ring. If Mine wanted to fight a ranged fight, he would give it to her. He removed his shield, taking out his staff, and fired a great and heavy blue soul arrow towards her. The large projectile surged for her, and while she ran to avoid it, it seemed as though the projectile was following her. She had to duck to avoid it when it neared. It struck the ground several yards behind her, the ground exploding slightly as it hit. "Ha! Is that the best you-" Mine's sentence was cut off as a hail of small blue projectiles went for her.

Sasha winced as she applied the tourniquets to her legs, and while the pain was excruciating, she knew there were more pressing issues. She looked to see Adrien and Mine had been moving about quite a bit, trying to catch each other off guard. Mine's attacks were easily blocked with that sliver greatshield, but Adrien's seemed to just barely miss Mine most of the time, but when they did hit, the odd blue projectiles looked like they hurt, but only sometimes drawing blood. Then she shifted her attention to Tatsumi and Run. While Run's wing was damaged, he still had a great advantage over Tatsumi since he could fly. Sasha was determined to change that.

Tatsumi Spun his spear rapidly, fast enough to block the incoming projectiles Run kept firing at him. The onslaught was relentless, and Tatsumi was beginning to feel some exhaustion. Even with Incursio, he could only last so long in such a one-sided fight. Then it felty like the wind itself was picking him up. He glanced over to see Sasha moving her blades slightly, and he could feel himself rising off the ground. Then a strong gust shot him forwards towards Run. He attempted to intercept the attack with his feathers, but none reached Tatsumi, gusts of winds blowing them away before they got close. Tatsumi was drawing near, spear poised to strike, and Run knew that he had no choice but to use his trump card.

" **God's Wings!** " Tatsumi attempted to strike, but Run's cry caused the wings on his back to turn translucent, and cover him. Tatsumi's attack stopped dead, before he was blown back, the feeling of intense pressure on his chest. He cried in pain as he shot toward the ground before impacting heavily. Run sighed in relief while Sasha stared on in disbelief. "Well it appears that your attack as reflected. Thats the effect of my trump card, God's Wings." Run stated simply as his wings once again became non-translucent and spread out behind him.

"Shit." Tatsumi grunted as he landed on the ground. Sasha growled at the angelic Jaeger, while Run simply prepared another salvo of feathers.

"Mine, please, stop this." Adrien tried to plead, but it came off as half-baked. Not only was he still trying to show he would fight for the sake of Run, but also that he didn't want to truly hurt Night Raid. The tricky situation was not lost on Adrien, but in the end it was better to fight Night Raid and secure his good relations with the emperor than not. Several hollow bangs erupted off his shield as Mine's shots struck against it with little effect. "If you surrender I will promise you a-" Then a far more powerful blast struck to his immediate right, threatening to knock him off balance as dust was kicked up into the air.

"Shut up you noble warrior wannabe! Theres no way I'm ever going to listen to you after everything you've done!" Mine screamed rebelliously, wincing slightly as the bruises from Adrien's strange attacks began to affect her. The blue projectiles, while hurting and sometime drawing blood, were obviously not meant to kill, but to wear down. _He's trying to tire me out so he can take me prisoner, but it won't work. I'll die before that happens!_ Mine thought angrily as she continued to shoot at Adrien, the shield still effortlessly blocking her attacks. _What is that thing made of!? Even that other silver shield he was using didn't seem this tough._ Mine observed before she was forced to dodge a larger, but slower blue arrow. _This is getting me nowhere, and even if I do kill you, you'd juts come back wouldn't you?_ Then an idea popped into her mind, something so crazy, it might just work. She stopped, and pointed her gun at Adrien, preparing her trump card.

Adrien was beginning to tire of this. While he wasn't a caster by nature, the abilities of Orbeck and Cronyx had increased his mana reserves, and the former's skills with sorceries seemed to have carried over somewhat when Abyssal Andre had been defeated. He was going to try to beat Mine and Tatsumi enough to where they would either surrender, or he could capture them. Sasha on the other hand, he could care less about. That bandit, even if she was working for Night Raid, deserved every bit of pain she received. _Theres no telling how many innocents she's killed or robbed from. The fact that Night Raid would recruit such an individual... Despicable. Tatsumi and Mine most likely don't know, but I doubt their upper brass dis not._

Adrien glanced behind him to see Run holding his own against his opponents, and then looked over to Mine, his crimson eyes narrowing seeing her charge an attack. The familiar dangerous glow from the weapon was similar to what he saw before the first time he had died int his world. Adrien swiftly cast magic shield on his greatshield, and held the now glowing shield up to block the incoming attack. When it did not come immediately, he became worried. He peeked over the side to see her still charging energy, lighting occasionally connecting to the ground. Her face was serious as she stared directly into his crimson eyes. Then she smiled sinisterly as she sharply turned her whole body, pointing the now super-charged weapon at a new foe. Adrien's eyes widened before he broke into a full sprint, his sword now in his right hand.

Mine Fired, the sheer energy causing air to dissipate, blowing away from her as a massive beam of raw energy erupted from the tip. Run had no time to react as the blade met his chest, the beam wide enough to engulf his whole mid-section. His eyes went wide in horror. He never had time to put up his guard, nor did he expect to ever have to. _After all, Adrien would have covered her, right?_ His lower and upper body began to fall in two separate pieces, the wounds completely cauterized. He glanced at Adrien running at Mine, only for the knight to stop and look at Run with a shocked expression, betraying his usual stone-faced behavior. Run saw it in his eyes as he fell, Adrien crimson orbs communicating a message that words could not. _I'm sorry... I have failed again..._

Adrien froze as he watched Run's two halves fall to the ground, and the Jaeger's wings dissipate into nothingness. A soul reached him only a moment later.

 **Soul of Run, The Angel**

Adrien and Mine faced each other. Mine had a satisfied look on her face as she looked as his now impassive face. The gun she was holding dropped, smoldering, but not destroyed. Her dress was in tatters and blood leaked from her mouth. Sasha and Tatsumi stared dumbfounded at Run's still warm corpse, and then at Mine and Adrien.

"How's that feel bastard?" Mine asked victoriously. At first Adrien didn't respond, instead replacing his sword with his staff. He cocked it behind him as bright blue energy briefly swirled around his hand that gripped the staff.

"I imagine it felt like this." Then he pushed the staff forward with his hand, and instead of a projectile like the assassins had expected, a massive cylindrical beam of bright blue energy was hurled at her. The ground below it burned and the beam itself looked as if the energy was writhing around itself in a spiral fashion. The sound it made was akin to a pained scream as it raced toward Mine and engulfed her, the triumphant smile never fading from her lips.

"MINE! No!" Tatsumi yelled in horror upon seeing the pink-haired girl be engulfed by the huge stream. As suddenly as the attack began, it ended, the last remnants of it slamming into the rock wall behind the target, shattering the hardened surface. Mine herself was nowhere to be seen, but along the ground where she once was were some of the tattered scraps of clothes she wore, a few locks of bright pink hair, now singed with burn marks, and a small pile of smoldering ashes strewn out in the direction the beam had fired.

 **Soul of the Genius Sniper**

"It is done." Adrien said simply before he turned to face Tatsumi and Sasha, an intimidating glare aimed at them. "Leave." His words were met with a wrathful, sorrowful roar as Tatsumi rushed him, no semblance of strategy in his movements, only pure rage. Adrien easily blocked a quick succession of strikes from Tatsumi's spear, the undead noting that the attacks were much stronger than anything the boy had thrown at him before. Then brief spikes of dull pain were felt through his back as something slashed against him rapidly. He groaned more from annoyance than pain. Adrien shoved the still glowing shield into Tatsumi, knocking him over, and then turned and rushed for Sasha.

Sasha, undeterred, surged toward Adrien with a gust of wind, aiming for his neck once again. The knight reared his sword back, and thrust forward, aiming to impale her, but the winds surrounding her threw off his aim, but he still drew blood, the side of her stomach now sporting a new large gash. With a defiant scream Sasha struck as well, a good amount of grey blood surging from Adrien's neck, before a large red spear impaled Adrien through the back. Tatsumi picked Adrien up with his spear, threw him several meters away, and then rushed forward again. The knight raised his greatshield a blocked another flurry of blows from the angered assassin. Taking a quick sip from his estus flask, Adrien stepped in tune with Tatsumi to keep his magically enhanced shield between them.

Adrien struck back at Tatsumi, his crystal sword narrowly missing the first time, but as Adrien swung again, he caught Tatsumi's right pectoral, the attack leaving a small gash in the armor, but not penetrating. Adrien did not let up, as he swiftly gripped the sword with both hands, and brought it behind him in preparation to stab Tatsumi, only that the sword began to glow with an eerie greenish-blue light. Tatsumi stepped to the side, but Adrien easily fallowed him and delivered the strike. The sword was out of range, but the glow seemed to erupt from the sword as the light surged forward and struck Tatsumi dead center.

"Ahhh!" Tatsumi cried out in shock and pain as the light seemed to pierce his armor easily, sending him sprawling backwards. He looked down at his chest to discover the armor was untouched, but the pain he felt was real. He attempted to get up, but his injuries so far were catching up to him. He looked up to see Adrien's sword glowing again, and a vertical wave of energy erupted from it this time. Wind was thrown towards the light-based attack from Sasha, but it had no effect as the energy continued on it's course. Tatsumi managed to move enough that it wouldn't trike his face or chest, but it hit his right upper arm, causing him to cry in pain again. The armor was untouched, but he could feel both wounds bleeding. Whatever that blade was, it wasn't cutting through his armor, it was completely ignoring it. "I-I'll... Kill you!" Tatsumi painfully and defiantly cried as he continued to struggle.

"Tatsumi!" Sasha cried in desperation as she send sharp gusts of wind toward Adrien to allow Tatsumi to stand, only for the teen to struggle, shaking as he stood up. Adrien stood there impassively, Sasha's attacks having no effect as they struck his shield. _Theres no way we can continue this! We have to get out of here!_ Sasha's mind screamed as the adrenaline continued to pump through her veins. "Hang on!" Gathering what strength she had left, she used her imperial arms to pick herself and Tatsumi up, and began to fly the two of them away. Adrien saw this, and took out his staff again. Sasha noticed this, and her eyes widened in terror. After seeing what he could do to Mine, she had no intention of becoming nothing but ashes. She used her wind control to send a Gust at Adrien's right side.

As the gust impacted with him, the large shield that had protected him from so much acted as a sail as it threw him off balance, and forced him to slide to his left. He recovered only to see that Sasha and Tatsumi were far out of range, and disappearing fast. He looked around him at what was left of the battlefield.

Boulder were smashed to bits, most of them having some form of scorch mark on them, either from himself, or from Mine. There were small craters where Run's feathers had missed their shots, and dust was still settling from Sasha's attacks. There was blood on the ground in multiple locations. Some from Run, some from Tatsumi, but most of it was from himself and Sasha, the attacks they sustained often being the most deadly. Adrien glanced at Run's unmoving corpse, a feeling of guilt and sorrow taking him as he moved to pick up his fallen helmet. He shifted to the gear he had started with as he began to clean up.

* * *

Leone sighed blissfully as she sat on the couch in Night Raid's headquarters, having just finished another beer fro the night. She, Lapp, and Akame were the only ones there, acting as a bodyguard of sorts. Initially Leone had protested to the idea of Najenda going on a patrol instead of her or Akame, but her boss had made it clear she wanted to go, and there was nothing anyone could say to stop her. Akame was currently in the shower, getting ready to get some rest fro the night. Unfortunately for both of them, no one would be getting any sleep.

A loud crash echoed through the Jaeger's headquarters, causing everyone inside to stir. Leone had been awake, and virtually the only one at the base, so she immediately went upstairs to where she heard the crash. The opened the door to Mine's room, only to see the window busted, with Sasha and Tatsumi both lying on the floor in bloody heaps. Tatsumi's breathing was shallow and he was unconscious, large bloodstains adorned his chest and arm, while there seemed to be multiple welts across his body, although that was only from a brief observation of the battered teen. Sasha had multiple scrapes and bruises along her stomach and chest, likely less a result of fighting, and more a result of hindered movement. This was not what caught Leone's mind though as he eyes instead caught the two missing halves of Sasha's legs. This whole scene elicited two words from Leone's admittedly trembling lips.

"Where's Mine?" At the moment she said that, Akame came up behind her, her head and body covered in nothing but two towels, but Murasame in her hands. Upon seeing the situation, she lowered her guard, but like Leone, had also noticed the lack of a certain pink-haired sniper. The look Sasha gave them filled their hearts with dread.

* * *

Adrien walked in silence toward where the Jaeger headquarters was. The two halves of Run's body hung limp in his arms as he walked. He encountered no one, and saw no one. He wasn't sure if it was coincidence, or fate, but he was alone on the street, being ever reminded that Run's death was his failure, and his failure alone. He knew something like this would happen, but he saw such a death as avoidable, and he wished he could have done more to stop it from happening. _I should have killed Mine the first time I fought her, or at least not given her the humanity. Now I am paying for my foolishness._ If only Vilhelm could see him now, he imagined that the crude man would have rubbed this in his face incessantly.

Soon enough he had the headquarters in sight as he rounded another corner. Unfortunately, there were two familiar faces in the street on the way.

"Well, we haven't seen any activity, what do you think Mez?" Bols asked curiously as he and the girl in question stopped in their patrol, not far from the Jaeger headquarters.

"They're probably being really cautious. I'm not sure how many guys they got, but I doubt they have as many as we do now. What with both you guys and us, I bet we outnumber them two to one!" Mez said confidently as she chuckled a bit. Bols put a finger to his chin in thought. As much as he wanted to believe that, he had a feeling that this whole debacle had only just begun. _I hope Seryu and Kurome are okay. Those two are the ones I'm worried about the most right now..._ Then Mex caught his attention again. "Hey, whats that?" Mez asked in a slightly cautious tone as she peered ahead of them. In the distance was a familiar silhouette carrying tow good sized clumps of something.

"Oh, that's Adrien. Its pretty easy to tell from his helmet." Bols explained, and upon Mez's questioning gaze, he elaborated. "The armor you saw him in that night was a more 'formal' armor he uses for special occasions. His normal armor is pretty odd looking. Although I wonder whats In hi-" Bols was cut off as Adrien stepped into the light in front of them, allowing them to see the two halves of Run's body, the giant wounds on his body looking cauterized. Bols knew what such flesh looked like from experience. But this made the scene before him any less horrifying. "Run...No..."

* * *

Leone stared at the wall ahead of her with a blank expression, the shock behind the news almost too much to bear. The little good news that had come with it was too little in comparison to what they lost. Akame had gotten fully dressed in her usual gear, forgoing any attempt to get rest that night. She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, even if she knew her weapon would be useless against that monster, she didn't care. One way or another, she would find a way to eliminate him.

"Where's Lapp?" Tatsumi's question snapped Leone out of her slight daze as she refocused on the young man.

"He's here somewhere. He should ha-" Leone's statement was interrupted as the man himself walked through the door rather casually.

"I apologize. I was outside when you both crashed through. I wanted to be sure no one had followed you." Lapp stated as he approached both Tatsumi and Sasha. He looked to Leone and Akame and sighed. "I never saw Mine come in... I suppose..." The frowns and averted gazes were all he needed to see to know the answer.

"That damn... Adrien." Sasha said with unrestrained mirth. Upon the mention of the name, Lapp's gaze fell to her, and everyone else seemed to tense slightly. "He... incinerated her, with a staff. A damn staff, and whatever it was that came out of it reduced her to nothing but ashes. Whatever he is, he's not natural. I almost want to say he's not human too."

"Maybe he isn't." Akame's comment brought the other's gaze to hers. "Unnatural strength and speed, strange abilities comparable to multiple imperial arms, his ability to regenerate and not be affected by serious wounds, and of course, the fact that Murasame had no effect on him. I don't think he's human, but he's also not an organic imperial arms, not with the number of strange and unique abilities he has. He's extremely dangerous, We should talk with Najenda, but I believe if we encounter him again, we should focus on slowing him down instead of killing him outright. The latter strategy seems to get us nowhere."

Everyone stared at Akame, mouths slightly ajar at her small speech, before they seemed to nod in recognition and understanding. Lapp stared at the girl with an impressed gaze, not that anyone could have seen it due to his helmet. _Impressive evaluation girl, if only you knew just how right you are. Of course, you can only slow him down so much._ Lapp then sat down on a simple wooden chair before he set his weapons down as well. Despite his status as an Undead as well, Adrien had multiple different factors working in his favor that Patches did not.

"You two should get some rest." Leone suddenly interjected, looking at Sasha and Tatsumi surprisingly sternly. "We'll keep watch in case Adrien decided to follow you guys. If he did... we'll be ready."

* * *

"What happened?" Esdeath said with an anger and sternness Adrien had yet to hear from her. Before him both Esdeath and Wave were looking at him holding Run's corpse, the walls of their temporary headquarters around them. Bols and Mez were both behind Adrien, the latter having a rather excited expression on her face, while Bol's body language suggested he was worried about what might go down, Wave had a similar expression on his own face.

"Run and I came upon three members of Night Raid, who struck first." Adrien explained calmly as he gently set Run's remain on a nearby table. He then reached into his bottomless box, causing Bols and Wave's trepidation to increase, while Esdeath seemed impassive. To the surprise of everyone but Esdeath, Adrien pulled two severed forelegs from the box, and threw them on the floor. "After a brief confrontation I took Sasha of Night Raid's legs. She was the same woman who had escaped me when we attacked that bandit camp. The Incursio user and Pumpkin user, Mine, were also there."

"You were holding back then." Esdeath said suddenly, making Adrien pause. He looked back to her, his expression hidden by the leather armor around his face, and the pointed helmet that hid his eyes. He said nothing, but instead opened his box again, this time though it elicited a reaction from the imperial general as Esdeath's hands were covered in ice, blades beginning to slowly form. Then Adrien brought out a very rough-looking large gun, one that Esdeath immediately recognized, causing her to stop her ice creation. Adrien merely put Pumpkin on the ground next to Sasha's dismembered legs, it's battered and cracked form a sharp contrast to the pristine stone floor of their headquarters.

"I also killed the Pumpkin user." Adrien said as he also held up a small cloth bag, and walked over to Esdeath with it, who took with with a sharp glare directed at Adrien. Upon opening the bag though, her eyes widened as she recognized the smell of the ashes within. Having dealt in many battles, and also managed the disposal of bodies, she was very familiar with the smell of burning flesh, and the smell of the ashes that remained.

"You... burned her body?" Esdeath asked curiously as she closed the bag, and threw it with the other items that Adrien had procured from Night Raid. _Why would Adrien would take the time to crema-._ Esdath's thought were interrupted by Adrien's next statement.

"It was a result of my attack." This caused everyone in the room to stare at the man with shock and somewhat in horror, with the exception of the woman in front of her, who simply soften her gaze. Esdeath was curious just how powerful his fire-like attacks could get if this is the result of an all out attack. Esdeath then hardened her gaze again.

"If you could do this, then how did Run die?" Esdeath's question was laced with a dangerous unspoken threat, one that she would act upon if Adrien gave the wrong answer.

"It was my own failure. Mine had faked me out, pretending to attack me before she shifted her aim to Run, and despite my speed, I was too slow to stop her. Run died because of my failure to predict her next move." Adrien's explanation, while brief, made Wave and Bols look at him with sympathy. Esdeath had an impassive glare, and Mez looked on at the scene curiously. A tense moment followed, before Esdeath sighed, her gaze softening slightly.

"Well, we have another imperial arms at our disposal, and we know at least one of their members is seriously crippled. But you will give me a detailed description of the fight later." Esdeath said, making the atmosphere of the room lighten slightly. She glanced behind Adrien to Run's body, and then focused on the knight again. "I am very disappointed though. I expected better of you." Then Esdeath promptly turned around and left the room. Leaving Adrien with the others.

"Please don't beat yourself up Adrien, I'm sure you tried your best." Bols said in a effort to reassure his friend, but Adrien did not respond, instead simply walking away, and out of the room, in the opposite direction Esdeath had.

"Run..." Wave said sadly as he glanced at the man's body, a cold chill running down his spine. "If even Adrien had trouble with them, then just how strong are these guys. First Stylish, and now Run? I feel bad for Adrien, he probably feels responsible fro both of their deaths."

"Wouldn't you?" Bols' question caused Wave to look away, not knowing how to respond, but knowing that Bols' was right. The young man looked back to where Adrien had left and hoped that the knight would be able to at least get some rest.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Guess who's back? Its me! I know updates have been slow, and I said I would get the second chapter of 'The Worst Berserker' out first, but it's not quite done, and I've kind had to re-watch an episode or two to remember how everything went canonically. Hopefully it won't take too much longer, and you guys already probably know that my updates with Shop class make these chapters take longer too.**

 **So yea this was a pretty impactful chapter, even if it wasn't 8k like I wanted it to be, still, 6.5k ain't bad. Mine and Run are both down for the count, and while it might seem kinda sudden, this has been coming for a while. Feel free to review and tell me what you thought of it! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	19. Chapter 19-Soul of the Betrayed

**Disclaimer, I do not own Dark Souls or Akame ga Kiru**

 **Soul of the Betrayed**

Adrien stepped slowly down the streets, a heavy downpour coming down in the afternoon, his armor and body soaked to the bone. Not many were out, only the occasional bystander, all of whom had some kind of rain-gear, looking at the knight strangely for his lack of any. He was currently equipped in his elite knight set. The well designed short robes that covered well concealed chainmail would do well to protect him without hindering his movements, the large metal pauldron on his left shoulder and the shiny angular helm made it distinct amongst even his large array of armor and clothes.

He had not slept or truly rested in nearly a week since his last encounter with Night Raid, and Run's funeral. He was constantly patrolling, searching for the reclusive group. The assassins had not shown their face in the same time, a clear indicator they were in hiding, and not taking any chances after losing a member, and having two others injured, one of which being permanently crippled.

The first few days of his restlessness had come with his companions showing concern for him, mostly Seryu and Bols. Wave also showed his concern, but was more adamant to keep his distance from the knight. Esdeath had also commented on his searching, noting if he worked himself too hard he would eventually be no good. But there was also a sense of understanding to her words, obviously seeing why he was doing it, and not outright objecting to it.

He was doing this to punish himself.

Of course, this was no real punishment. As an Undead, he did not need sleep, nor food or drink. Instead his punishment was to patrol on his own, while everyone else worked in alternating pairs. While he was used to wandering alone, the company he had been privy to in the last few months was something he very much enjoyed. He could tell the others were somewhat worried, even Esdeath had begun to somewhat show her concern, although only in small ways. This punishment of his was also because of his lack luster performance. Despite his power, he had been mostly holding back against Night Raid, knowing they had the best of intentions, and based on his own research, had done real good in their missions. He still did not wish to fight them, but knew it was a stretch to say he could reason with them, at least not without holding a sword to their throat of course.

Adrien shook his head of that thought, he wasn't going to resort to such measures. As he continued his trek through the city, his thoughts wandered to all of his encounters since awakening to the new age. Most would be considered victories for himself, but at an unnecessary cost to two of those encounters.

Dr. Stylish and Run were both deaths that were possibly avoidable if he had truly gone all out on Night Raid, but his convictions of the group prevented him from doing so. His first fight with Night Raid resulted in a net zero since neither side really lost anything. His fight Against Bulat and Akame had resulted in both his and Bulat's death, something Adrien still considered a 'loss' for the most part. And the fight within the canyon could be considered a straight loss due to his axe being stolen from him. All in all he didn't have a great track record.

That would end though. With him patrolling on his own, it not only might encourage Night Raid to attack him, but also would prevent any of his companions from being caught up in a potential fight. Although it could also have the opposite effect, perhaps seeing this as an opportunity for the assassins to take care of the 'weaker' groups without having to worry about him. It was a risk, but he was given little choice. Adrien briefly looked up to the still raining sky and sighed, hoping that the emperor would heed his words and be proactive in his efforts.

* * *

Seryu cleaned her new sword diligently, her reflection in the grey metal looking back at her, showing a downcast expression. She missed Run. She missed Dr Stylish too, his funeral still fresh in her mind. Her hand gripped the sword a little tighter, her face turning into a scowl. _Night Raid. You will face Justice...all of you._ Koro nudged her leg, and her expression softened as she pat the dog's head. Then she thought back to Adrien's encounters with the group, and all he had said to her. She shook her head.

"I... shouldn't be getting worked up. But I can't help it." Seryu said to herself. She looked up from her sword at the empty courtyard around her, it was the middle of the day, and rain was pouring down heavily. She was sheltered by the overhang she was under, but she remembered that Adrien was still out in the city, searching. "He shouldn't be out there alone. Its not his fault..." Ever since Run had died, Adrien seemed to blame himself for the young man's death, and while her and Bols had tried to dissuade him of such a notion, the knight seemed adamant to make up for his 'mistake'. Even Esdeath seemed to be at least somewhat concerned for him, despite initially being very disappointed in him.

"Still concerned about Adrien?" a young voice called to her, and she looked behind her to see Kurome had come to visit, a bag of cookies still in her hand. Seryu nodded deftly after getting over the sudden shock of the girl's appearance. "I wouldn't." Kurome said simply as she sat down next to the orange haired girl, who's eyes turned somewhat miffed at that.

"Why? Adrien might be strong, but he's not invincible, what if Night Raid ambushed him and he's not prepared? What if he gets captured, or killed?" Seryu asked challengingly at Kurome, who's expression had not changed.

"He won't. He's fought off four members of Night Raid singlehandedly, is immune to poison, and is inhumanly tough. Even if they did get the drop on him, I wouldn't be surprised if he was still able to win, or at least get away." Kurome's words seemed to strike with Seryu as the guard's face went from miffed to one of somewhat shocked curiosity. "No, what you should be worried about is if he'll decide to leave the Jaegers." This made Seryu's face instantly turn into an expression of anger.

"He would never!" Seryu shouted, standing up suddenly, and Koro falling down, shocked. "Adrien would never abandon us! He's saved our lives, he's fought alongside us, he's killed members of Night Raid as well! He's-"

"He's not human." Kurome's interruption caused Seryu to pause as her face scrunched up. Kurome's face remained neutral as she looked out into the courtyard and continued. "No human should be able to use so many different Shingu, or be able to wield multiple weapons and armor that rival imperial arms in power so effortlessly. He's demonstrated impressive strength and durability that is not derived from some armor he wears, but instead seems to be his own body. And of course, the most damning evidence is that he's immune to Murasame's poison. Whatever he is, he's not human." Kurome let her words hang in the air as she bit into another cookie while Seryu stared at her slack-jawed.

"N-No. Your lying! And even if he wasn't, that doesn't mean he-"

"Do you remember Sheele? The member of Night Raid with purple hair that he 'eviscerated' in front of your eyes?" Kurome asked, and hesitantly, Seryu nodded, ignoring the interruption. "If that was the case, then how come me, Wave, Bols, and Adrien all fought her within the canyon? If you don't believe me there, ask Wave and Bols. They'll tell you who they fought." Seryu's face seemed to lose it's color as she said those words. "If your wondering, I haven't told Esdeath, and I doubt Wave and Bols have fully realized it yet who they fought. But..." Kurome stood up and looked at Seryu with a fierce gaze. "I will eventually have to tell them, or maybe before then Esdeath will realize it if she sees Sheele. Either way, let me ask you this, How confident are you that Adrien won't betray us?"

* * *

"Ouch! Watch it will ya?" A complaint escaped the mouth of Sasha, and recent recipient of two new robotic limbs. The blue haired girl laid in the small bed provided within the secluded confines of the secret revolutionary base. The doctor beside her had a large brown beard and wore a standard lab coat along with glasses on his nose. He sighed with exasperation.

"Ma'am, I'm just tryn' to help, now, can you feel this?" the doctor asked as he gently shook her metal foot, and shortly afterward, she nodded. "Good, you'll probably be a bit wobbly before you get used to them, but once you do, you'll be right as' rain." He said with a small smile, before the door to the room opened and Najenda walked in, a recently lit cigarette in her mouth. "Miss Najenda, I would ask if you please didn't smoke within the infirmary." The commander of Night Raid stared at the doctor for a moment, an incredulous and challenging look on her face, before it broke down into a humorous laugh.

"I told you not to call me Miss, Freddy. I still owe you an arm." Najenda said as she held up her robotic appendage, and then directed her gaze to Sasha. "And now she owes you two legs." She said before seeing his unchanged gaze, and reluctantly putting out her cigarette and throwing it away.

"You owe the revolutionary army those limbs, not me. And please refer to me as Fredrick, if you aren't going to call me doctor." Fredrick said sternly, and Najenda merely shrugged as she moved past him to the bed.

"Whatever you say doc." Najenda's casual reply only got an annoyed grunt from the doctor as he left, leaving the two in privacy as he closed the door. They sat for a brief moment in silence as Najenda looked at Sasha with a look of sympathy. "I understand the feeling." Sasha merely stared at her now robotic legs with a small scowl

"I should have defeated him. I should be looking for him now."

"Doing what? Crawling after him and slapping him with your nubs?" Najenda replied sternly. "You need to rest, we all do, thats why we're hiding out here for now. Were nearly two hundred miles from the city. Sure, our objective isn't getting anywhere closer, but we're just going to have to play this smarter. Avoid Esdeath and Adrien, take out the smaller targets before we get to our main objective." Najenda paused, letting Sasha absorb the information. "When your ready, we'll come back and get you."

"What!?" Sasha exclaimed, shocked at the sudden sidelining.

"We need to be cautious from now on, we still have a mission, and your not ready to join the fray again. Like I said, once you're better and ready to fight, I'll come back and retrieve you." Sasha was practically fuming as Najenda said this. "I know you still want to get back at him, but killing yourself isn't going to accomplish anything. Just be patient, okay?" Reluctantly, Sasha sat back in her bed, and looked out the window into the forest that surrounded the building.

"I hate it when other people are right... Fredrick was always right." Sasha remembered, fond memories of one of her best friends coming into her forethoughts. Najenda looked at her with pity, knowing who she was thinking of, and knowing that pain first hand. "I... I shouldn't have left like I did. At least, thats what I think to myself sometimes. But then I remember if I had died, then who would be there to avenge them?"

"You want your vengeance, you'll get it. I can't guarantee you'll be the one to take him down for good, but I can at least assure you you won't miss it." Najenda said confidently, but her words seemed to have no effect on the woman in bed, her gaze fixated on the window. "Just, don't push yourself too hard."

* * *

"Fucking Run!" A masked man screamed as he and his cohorts tried to flee their building, tripping over themselves to get away from the man who had just broke into their building of operations. Around them were several dozen chemical stations, all producing a highly addictive drug that that was sold throughout the empire. It's calming, suggestive and numbing effects were especially popular with criminals and thugs who would use the drug to spike someone's drinks, convince them to hand over the key to their house, and promptly steal all their belongings.

Another strategy among buyers of the substance would spike a woman's drink and take advantage of her, or worse, get a woman addicted to the substance and manage to sell her off to slavers or whoever wanted her. Those that made the chemical knew this well, and those that used it in their activities paid high dollar for a genuine supply. It was also quite popular with imperial officials who would use it rather brazenly, and thanks to the prime minister, the discipline and drive to crack down on the production of these drugs was minimal at best. So it made it all the more confusing when an official member of the Jaegers found their location, and started cleaving through their members one by one.

A blood splatter covered the floor of the chemical room where the makers of the drug had just fled, the limp body of the guard falling, now missing and arm, cleanly cut right at the shoulder. Adrien stepped over the body as he pushed forward. He remembered hearing about the drug, and what it could do to people back in the capital, but only here had he stumbled upon a deal in-progress, and managed to beat the location of the manufacturer out of the supplier. The Elite knight armor had blood covering it's right arm, and parts of the helmet were covered in blood, a clear sign of the damage Adrien had caused so far.

Four more guards rushed in, all wearing a mask for their nose and mouth, all armed with pistols and all of them trained them on the knight. Adrien merely raised his shield, and the bullets pinged off harmlessly. Adrien swiftly approached them, the bullets doing nothing to slow him. The guards shot at his legs, and managed to illicit blood sprays, but he did not slow.

"What the fuck is this guy!" The closest guard said as he ran out of bullets, and thus, Adrien was upon him. Adrien cracked the edge of his shield against the man's head, resulting in the man falling to the ground immediately with a bleeding head wound. The second guard attempted to draw a sword, but Adrien was upon him with an uppercut with his free hand, sending the man flying upwards and back into crates of ingredients. The other two managed to draw their swords, and rushed him at the same time. Adrien gripped his knight shield with both hands and shoved it forward, simultaneously blocking the attacks, and shoving them back. Adrien kicked the one on his right in the stomach while blocking another strike from the one on his left. A haymaker quickly dispatched of him as well. They were both down for the count, the blunt force trauma too much for their bodies to handle. Adrien pushed forward wordlessly.

The back door to the location was now wide open, the people escaping quickly, taking files and important documents with them. All their product however was left behind, and the evidence that they were there never taken care of. The alley was full of the sound of rushing footsteps as the men fled, their guards staying behind to try to hold off their invader. Adrien came through a final set of double doors and was greeted with a myriad of tables and chairs, all with papers and documents strewn about, while he wasn't exactly an expert investigator, even he could tell they had been looking for their most important files.

If he wanted, he could chase them, but he knew that with them fleeing, they would lead him to more production areas and offer a chance to shutdown more of the production of the drug. At least, that was the theory. Guards rush in, these in particular having rifles, the first to have them since he started his assault. He rushed them back, and heard the rifle fire as he rapidly approached them. Bullets clanged off his shield as he held it in front of him and slammed into the first guard, sending his rifle flying. Adrien reached into his bottomless box and withdrew the pair of dark curved swords with foreign designs on them. The sellsword twinblades made quick work of the first two guards as Adrien used both and arced into a powerful attack that cut across both men. Blood spewed from their wounds as Adrien attacked, and as the other guards attempted to take him down, they followed suit.

* * *

Seryu walked the streets with purpose, remembering Adrien's route exactly, and aiming to confront him. _Mr Adrien..._ Seryu thought as she walked, her conflicted feelings coming to the forefront of her mind. _Why? Why would you do this? Wave and Bols said the same thing. That Sheele assassin is alive, and still owns her imperial arms. Thats..._ Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she saw men running away hurriedly from a building to her right. The broken, open door to the structure a clear indication of some form of invasion. She equipped her twin pistols and rushed to the door, quickly looking inside for threats.

Seryu gasped as she saw the wreckage within. Koro sniffed around curiously, going towards the bodies of the downed guards. A few of them were still breathing, but only barely. Then she noticed it. The smell of aphrodisiacs and artificial refinement. While she hadn't been a guard for a terribly long time, she had been around enough to recognize the smell of drugs. While in their refined state most were odorless to humans, the process of making them, and the cheaper, less refined versions of the same drug often had an artificial and sickening stench.

Seryu knew better than to expose herself to potential toxic fumes, and covered her ace with a plain green bandana. She brought out her pistols as her and Koro cautiously entered. _This must have been some kind of production facility. But its operation right here in the middle of town, how could the guard have let this kind of place slip by? Was it covered up that well?_ Seryu continued past the corpses and lucky few unconscious as she walked into the rather dingy interior. As she looked upon the carnage, she noticed loose bullets littered the ground, the lead tips bent and warped, having hit something extremely solid, and bounced off of it. _Theres nothing around here that could have done something like this. Except for Adrien..._ Seryu picked up the pace as that thought crossed her mind, now determined to find the end of the destruction, and it's culprit.

Adrien dropped the now corpse of one of the workers from the production site, the body hitting the dark stone of the alleyway. The white froth from the corner of the man's mouth an indication he had consumed something to end his own life. Like the last three had. Adrien had attempted to pursue and infiltrate another production facility, but the workers were simply going to remote locations and attempting to dispose of the documents in one form or another. He had stopped them, but when he attempted to interrogate them, they would somehow consume something already in their mouths and kill themselves. He assumed it was something hidden within their teeth, but had yet to find a way to stop them. At least he had the documents. After putting them into his bottomless box however, something tugged at him, a feeling that was both familiar and unfamiliar. It was telling him to turn around, and when he did, he saw a familiar silhouette.

"Seryu." Adrien said simply as he began to approach his friend, but she did not move, instead she was looking at him with a mix of relief and... apprehension. The conflicted expression was not lost on him. "Is something the matter?" A growling sound came from below him, and when he looked down he saw Koro baring his teeth at him. _He's never done that before. Whats gotten into him?_ He looked back up and saw Seryu removing the bandana that was covering her mouth and nose.

"Is it true?" Seryu asked, her voice cracking with emotion as she looked at her previously most trusted friend. Adrien looked at her and cocked his head, before he could question her, she spoke again. "Is it true you kept a member of Night Raid alive!?" Adrien paused, his posture becoming stiff as she said his. "That Sheele woman from Night Raid, I thought you had killed her that night, so why did Kurome tell me that she was there when you ambushed Night Raid, and was able to take your axe!?" Seryu's tone became louder and angrier as she confronted him, but her tone also conveyed what she felt the most. Betrayal.

"Why!? Why would you let her live, give her the imperial arms back, and then take her back to Night Raid! Tell me!" Seryu's rant became more frantic as tears streamed down her face, the storm of emotions inside her coming out. Adrien said nothing for a moment. Instead he allowed her this, as it was a long time coming.

"Seryu." Adrien's calm tone seemed to take a bit of the edge off of Seryu's angered expression, but it did not fade. "I'm sorry, after everything. You most of all, deserve to know the truth." Seryu's eyes widened as a stabbing sensation entered her heart, the feeling from earlier coming back in it's purest form, as her worst fear seemed to be coming true. "I am not human." And just like that, as if a bolt of lighting had struck her, that feeling of betrayal and heartbreak was marred with confusion.

* * *

Najenda watched carefully as Tatsumi sparred with Susanoo. The two were fighting hand-to-hand, and Tatsumi was doing considerably well for himself. They were all in a small training area at the rebellion's base, the plain dirt ground having a large square drawn into it to signify the sparing area. It was plainly clear that Tatsumi was losing, and had taken multiple hits, but he was not giving up, and had managed to land a few on the organic imperial arms as well, but it was impossible to know given the regeneration factor he had.

"Doing pretty well isn't he?" Lubbock said as he approached Najenda, and she nodded, although the stoic look never left her face. Lubbock turned his attention to the fight, watching as Susanoo attempted to deliver a right hook to Tatsumi, who managed to avoid it juts in time. "So, is this your training, or..?"

"He requested it. In fact, he's been sparring quite a bit lately. Mostly with Susanoo and Leone, but still, he's been keeping himself busy..." At that, her face grew a bit apprehensive, a look of concern on her face as she continued to watch the match. Lubbock quickly picked up on why she looked concerned, his own face copying her visage.

"Too busy, right?" Lubbock inquired, to which Najenda slowly nodded. They watched Tatsumi's face as he fought. Most people would see his face and think he was simply very determined and focused, but she knew better, underneath that face was a boy angry enough to slaughter half an army, not only was he angry at the empire, and at Adrien, but also himself.

"He blames himself for everything that happened that night. I understand why, but he's barely gotten any real rest since then. He might not look like it, but he's very sleep deprived. I admire his determination, but he's no good to us dead." Najenda stated while crossing her arms, Lubbock nodding in understanding as he watched Tatsumi continue to dodge and weave. Only now he noticed that Tatsumi's eyes had dark circles under them, and looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

"Have you talked to him about it yet?" Lubbock asked simply.

"Not yet. I'm wondering how far he's actually going to go. Leone has already warned him about pushing himself too hard, but that seemed to have gone nowhere. I'll talk to him tonight if I'm not called somewhere, but in case I am, I want you to talk to him." At that, Lubbock's expression became one of shock and disbelief as he turned to face Najenda.

"What!? Why me?" Lubbock asked, and Najenda simply smirked as she turned her gaze to meet his.

"Because Akame has her own training to do, and while the others can help, I trust you to get him on the right track again." Lubbock looks down, but then nodded somewhat hesitantly.

"I can try at least." Lubbock said as he looked back to Tatsumi, just in time to see him get punched in the gut by Susanoo, and knocked on his ass. "Well, I'll go ahead and say something, try to get him to take a break right now at least." Lubbock says as he nears the fallen assassin. He glances at Susanoo, who looks back, and they exchange a nod. Najenda ushers Susanoo away as Tatsumi struggles to get up.

"Had enough?" Lubbock asks teasingly, earning a sharp glare from the downed assassin. "Come on, you're there on the floor by your own devices. Get up and I'll treat you to something to drink. They have a bar around here somewhere, but I hear the booze is shit." Tatsumi manages to stand on his own as Lubbock talks, and sighs.

"No thanks. I have some important training with Incursio in a few hours, I can't afford to be-" Tatsumi was cut off as Lubbock rushed him, and out of shock he fell backwards. He quickly realized now that Lubbock had faked him out.

"Night Raid can't afford for one of it's members biting off more than they can chew. Everyone needs to rest Tatsumi. Give yourself a day or two to relax and heal up, and you'll be ready to train again." Lubbock said, watching with a pitiful gaze as Tatsumi got up slowly. He could tell Tatsumi was in a lot of pain, and was not thinking clearly. He put his arm around Tatsumi's shoulders as they began to walk. "C'mon Tatsumi, lets talk." He then proceeded to lead the young assassin to the 'bar'.

Lubbock took a long swig of his drink as he watched Tatsumi barely give his a sip. They were sitting inside of what the revolutionaries called their bar. Although all it really consisted of was a large tent and a small table where various alcohols were severed. Most of which were watered down to save on the supply. The few tables that were scattered under the tent only had a few other patrons there, and none of them looked terribly happy to be there.

"Man, not only does the booze suck, but so does the bar itself." Lubbock commented as he looked around, and then looked back to Tatsumi, who was staring down at his watered down beer. "I understand." Tatsumi looked back up, his gaze becoming curious.

"Understand what exactly?"

"What your feeling right now." Lubbock's words seemed to strike with Tatsumi as he stopped for a moment, before looking away. "Your blaming yourself for what happened. For Mine... For Sasha, but it isn't your fault, and running yourself ragged like this isn't going to help anyone."

"I'm...not-" Tatsumi stops himself, knowing that Lubbock was right. "But I need to get stronger, for everyone's sake. Akame and Sheele are both training right now aren't they?"

"They are, but they're also taking breaks and resting. You aren't, at least, not enough as you should be." Lubbock said, and Tatsumi didn't respond, instead he merely took a sip of his drink. "Listen, just take it easy for a little while okay? I know you want to be stronger, we all do. That way nothing like whats happened will happen again. But it's going to take time. Alright?" Tatsumi gripped his glass tighter, a frustrated expression on his face, thoughts going back to that night. How Sasha had been maimed, and Mine... There was nothing left but ash. Lubbock was right, he wasn't going to be able to rival that kind of strength overnight.

"Alright. I'll take some time off." Lubbock smiled gently as Tatsumi conceded.

* * *

"Undead? But... you don't look... dead." Seryu said weakly after hearing Adrien's explanation. At the moment he was telling her about himself and how he has so many abilities, the weapons he made from his enemy's souls, how magic worked, and how it was uniquely different, the difference between pyromancies, sorceries, and miracles, and much more about his nature.

"Appearances can be deceiving." Adrien said as he sat down on a empty crate within the alley, and then removed his helmet, revealing his face, before he fiddled with his collar and pointed at a place on his neck. Seryu moved closer and while it was difficult with the low light, she was able to see a strange circle that looked to be in a constant state of ember. Her eyes widened as she saw the brand.

"What is that? W-Why is it still... burning?" Seryu said cautiously, a small amount of concern for her friend showing, even if she was conflicted about his true intentions. Koro was looking at Adrien with an angry face at a distance, now wary of the man.

"This is the darksign, a sign of my undead nature. There is no removing it." Adrien began moving his collar back up, but did not put his helmet back on yet. "With it, I cannot truly die, and will be sent back to a bonfire if I sustain too much damage. Among other things." Adrien looked away, his face becoming somber as he once again reflected on the curse, never enjoying the topic, but having accepted it many millennia ago. At least, he assumed it had been that long since he had come to terms with his nature, it was getting increasingly hard to remember. _Thats... not good._ Adrien thought as his mind concluded what he already knew was true.

"That sounds pretty good... even if you still feel pain." Seryu said a bit reluctantly, still unsure of how to take all this.

"You might think that, but unfortunately it is not that simple. If I lose my purpose in the world, and live without meaning, I will hollow, and if I hollow, I will go mad, unable to tell friend from foe, nothing more than an animal, wrapped in human garb." Seryu seemed skeptical at first, but what would he gain to tell her this? Was he going to mislead her just for the sake of doing it? _No, Mr Adrien isn't like that... he wouldn't tell me this if it wasn't the truth._ Seryu thought, her mind still trying wrap around the implications of everything Adrien has said. "Thats not all I need to tell you about. The empire have been deceiving you more than even me." At that, Seryu's eyes widened and Adrien began his lengthy explanation of the empire's crimes against it's own people, and the corruption from within. Seryu was silent the whole time, but hearing Adrien's claims made her throat dry, and made her want to scream and tell him he was wrong, but something was stopping her. Something that felt similar to what she had been feeling about Adrien, only now it was directed toward the empire.

"...Thats when I realized the empire had been allowing these types of things to occur." Adrien continued, his eyes drifting to the now cold corpse of the worker. "But there is an even greater threat that could come about if th-"

"Stop." Seryu's simple request made him do so, as he looked at her curiously. "I don't want to hear anymore. No more of your... lies!" Adrien was a bit taken aback by her defiant tone, concern on his face. _Did I take this too far?_ Adrien asked himself, his gaze now set on Seryu's trembling form. _Was I too hasty with all this new information? Curses. I should have revealed one thing at at time instead of all at once._ Adrien was berating himself, but his thought stopped when Seryu spoke again. "I can't believe you! Ive dedicated my life to the empire! I cant just believe they would do these things!"

"Seryu, please, I know this is a lot, but you must understand that this is the truth. Besides I still need to tell you why these things are far worse than you imagine." Seryu was even more conflicted now. _Even after all that, theres something worse? Theres no way!_ "If this corruption is allowed to fester, it won't only be the empire and it's citizens in danger, but the whole world will be too. There is humanity that is stirring within the capital, and if allowed to continue it will manifest into the abyss, a nigh unstoppable darkness that will consume the world. Please, for the sake of everyone, the Prime minister must be stopped."

Seryu looked at him, her conflicted feelings still present, tears threatening to burst forth once again. She was being asked by the person she trusted the most to betray the empire, the nation she had given her life to, and upon which many of her morals were grounded. But now all of that was being questioned with this new information Adrien had brought to her. She still wasn't sure, she didn't know what to believe, but there was one thing for certain, that even now, some part of her still knew to be true. That Adrien could be trusted.

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

 **I'm Alive! I hate how my update dates are getting farther and farther apart, but for some reason I find that my drive to write seems to waver when many other things in life tend to come up or take my focus. If I had the power to create copies of myself and have one at home, and one at work, I think my life would be perfect, but alas, this isn't My Hero Academia. I guess I should just continue to the best I can.**

 **I'm hoping that with the new year, a new determination will help me make chapters faster, with the same quality, or better, as before. As always I really appreciate all the support you guys have given me over the year, and I'm hoping I'll be able to reciprocate that support with better chapters with shorter in-between times. But anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and as always...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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